The Outcast and the Night Fury
by KN Hudson
Summary: Hiccup Vastley didn't like dragons...until one became his best friend. A modern HTTYD AU.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

I found the Night Fury by accident.

Unlike most people around here, I am not at all interested in dragon watching. In fact, I avoid dragons as much as possible. Not because I'm afraid of them—considering that they're big fire-breathing lizards, they are remarkably tolerant of humans. So long as you don't threaten them or get too close, they'll leave you alone.

At least the dragons here at Berk will. Berk is the largest island in the Northern Archipelago and it's famous for three things: cold weather, the weird names/nicknames of its inhabitants, and for being the home of the last flock of wild dragons. No, the dragons are not always on Berk. They fly all around the Archipelago. But the ocean around Berk has the best fishing-something to do with the fish migratory patterns-and fields and big caves where they like to nest, so the dragons are here a good bit of the time.

Back in the Middle Ages, there was a great dragon war that lasted nearly three centuries. No one seems to know exactly how or why it ended, but humans and dragons have been co-existing pretty peacefully since then. Mostly.

I say 'mostly' because we do have occasional accidents-usually some crazy tourist who comes to see the wild dragons, ignores all the warning signs, and tries to pet one or take a selfie or something stupid like that. Even more rarely, it'll be a poacher. No one has died, not in my lifetime, but there have been a few cases where people were burned or scratched pretty bad.

That's rare, though. Mostly the dragons ignore people if you keep a safe distance.

So I'm not scared of them. But I don't like them. Maybe I'm being unreasonable but I can't help resenting them. If it weren't for dragons, maybe my mom wouldn't have left. Maybe Dad wouldn't be so stern and unhappy. And maybe I wouldn't be such a scrawny little shrimp of a kid.

You see, my mom loves dragons—it's like she's obsessed with them. It's how she and Dad met, actually. She first came to Berk to do field work on her PhD in Dracology. She was studying some Gronkles when she accidently trespassed onto our land and happened to bump into Dad, who has always liked to take long walks around the Vastley family estate.

They started talking, fell in love, and a month later, they got married. But it wasn't quite 'happily ever after'. The Vastleys are the richest, most prominent family on Berk, on the whole Archipelago actually, and, young as he was, Dad was already the mayor. So he had to host events and dinners and attend meetings and such. He wanted Mom to be at his side, but she only wanted to study dragons.

They began arguing more and more often. I think they might have divorced early on, but then Mom found out she was expecting me. Apparently she and Dad were so happy that things got better for a while. (That part of the story makes me smile, or even get a little teary—yea, I can be totally sappy. But it's nice to know that there was a time when my parents wanted me).

But it wasn't an easy pregnancy and Mom had to go on bed rest. Except there was a dragon that she was especially fond of, a red Stormcutter, and when one of her fellow students told her that he had gotten very ill, she decided to get up and go see him.

The Stormcutter got better, but Mom ended up going into labor with me much too early. I wasn't just a preemie—I was an extreme preemie. I spent the first ten months of my life in the neo-natal unit at the big hospital on the mainland. Even now, fourteen years later, whenever I see Dr. Gothburg, she always talks about how it's a miracle that I lived and that I didn't have major medical issues.

I know I was really lucky to end up healthy, and I'm grateful, but right from the start I've always been short and so skinny. I can't help but think that if I hadn't been born so prematurely, I might take after my parents instead. They're both tall and lean, but muscular too. Dad's friend Gobber, who is like an uncle to me, always tells me that kids who were preemies eventually catch up in growth, but I'm fourteen and I haven't caught up yet.

Anyway, my being born too early caused even more stress between my parents, and when I was a year old, Mom was offered a position on a dragon preserve in South Dakota, USA. It was a great honor and it meant that she could work with some of the best scientists in the field. But Dad's family has lived on Berk for hundreds of years. Supposedly some of our Viking ancestors helped to settle it. He didn't want to leave his estate or his job as the mayor.

So they divorced and Mom took off to Dragon Paradise. I stayed with Dad on Berk although I don't think he wanted me anymore than she did. Maybe a little, just because I'm heir to the Vastley name and fortune, but he doesn't really like me. I said that once to Gobber when I was younger and he about had a fit trying to convince me that Dad loves me. I finally said okay, that I believed him and I would talk with Dad about it, but of course I never did.

I mean, really, what would I even say? _Hey Dad, could you please tell me that you love me even though I'm not the big, strong, athletic son you wanted? And we have nothing in common and you obviously don't want to spend any time with me because you never do, and if we ever do try to spend time together, I do something stupid and wrong and you end up yelling. But underneath all that, you really do love me, right?_

I may be pathetic, but I'm not quite that pathetic.

But anyway, I was telling you about how I found the Night Fury. It was a Saturday in late June. I had snuck out of the house to avoid Dad. Mom had actually called earlier and that always put him in a bad mood. I think she was inviting me again to come spend some time with her over the summer. It's crazy, but I've never actually seen my mother in person. Well, not since I was a baby and I don't remember that. I was still pretty frail and sickly when I was a little kid and Dad would never let me go to the preserve. He said the dragons might hurt me or I might get germs from them and get sick.

After a while Mom quit asking, but the past year she's started again, saying that I'm older now and ought to be able to make my own decision about visiting. I don't like it here on Berk, but I don't think I want to see her either. Even if I did, I'm not sure I would have the nerve to tell Dad. He was really furious when Mom started pushing for me to come to the preserve again.

When Dad is in a bad mood, it seems like I can't do anything right around him and he just gets even more upset with me. I was reading in the library when he stalked down the hall past the open door. When I heard him snap, "That's out of the question, Valka!" I realized he was talking with Mom on the phone and decided that maybe I should make myself scarce for a while. I slipped out the library's side door and down the corridor to the mud room. I switched my loafers for olive-green Wellies, grabbed my blue jacket from its hook, and headed outside.

I went to the beach first. Even in summer, it's much too cold for swimming, but there's a smooth, flat rock near the water's edge where I like to sit and watch the waves. But as I approached the edge of the cliff overlooking our stretch of sand, I could hear voices calling to one another. I crouched behind some rocks and cautiously peered down to see my cousin Sly and his friends already there, having a picnic and playing volleyball. Technically they were trespassing, but I knew Dad wouldn't mind, especially since Sly is family—not to mention being the popular, athletic kid he wishes he had.

Sly and the twins can be bullies to me though, so I stayed out of sight and went to the cove instead. The cove is another one of my favorite places. You have to walk a long way through the woods, on a twisty, narrow path. It ends abruptly at a rock face higher than my head, with a narrow gap that even I can barely squeeze through. But then the cove is the most peaceful place in the world. It's surrounded by gray rock walls, covered with moss and tree roots growing down. There's a waterfall and a cerulean-blue pool, silver boulders, tall trees and grass in a dozen shades of green—in the summer at least. In winter, it's all ice and snow. But it was at its most lush and beautiful now.

I squeezed through the narrow gap and stepped into the cove. Then I froze and just stared. I had almost bumped right into a big black dragon. There were plenty of squirrels and birds in the cove, but I had never seen a dragon there before. He lay on his side and for a minute I thought he must be napping.

Then I saw the blood. He had a deep wound on his left shoulder that was just _gushing _blood. I wasn't sure how much blood a dragon could lose, but I couldn't imagine him living much longer at that rate. He was already panting in quick, shallow breaths. I ripped off my jacket and held it to the wound, pressing as hard as I could.

"Hey, bud. I'm sorry. I know this hurts, but we've got to stop the bleeding. Please don't breathe fire at me, okay? "

The dragon opened his eyes—bright green eyes like mine—and looked right at me. My own breath caught in my throat. There was so much pain and fear in his gaze. For a minute, it was like looking in a mirror. There was intelligence too. I knew that dragons were smart animals, but at that moment, somehow I knew that he understood what I was saying, that I was trying to help, and that he wouldn't hurt me.

I also realized that we needed help. Berk is not a dragon preserve, but we do have a wildlife rehabilitation center that cares for dragons and other animals that have been hurt. I could call them, but my phone was in my jeans pocket and I was afraid to take my hands away from staunching the wound. I tried yelling for help, just on the off chance that someone might be within earshot, but no luck there.

After a long time, I finally dared to lift one hand away and pull out my phone. I couldn't tell if the bleeding had stopped, or if moving my hand made it worse because my jacket and hands were already covered with blood. I could only pray that I was doing the right thing and that the dragon wouldn't die on me.

Operating my phone with one hand was tricky. I was scared to death I would drop it, but I managed to call Berk's emergency number and almost cried in relief when Ingrid Hofferson answered.

"Hi, Mrs. Hofferson, this is Hiccup Vastley. I'm with a hurt dragon. He's bleeding to death and I need to contact the Wildlife Rehab Center."

She connected me to the Center and then I had to try to tell the veterinarians, Sven and Phlegma Jensen, how to get the cove. We all realized at once that it was going to be difficult, if not impossible, to get the dragon out of there.

"It's a sunken area, with rock walls?" Phlegma asked. "Sven, we're going to have to rapel down in there."

Sure enough, a short time later they were carefully but quickly making their way down the side of the cove's walls. Berkians are a pretty tough lot, except for me.

They approached cautiously and the dragon raised his head and seemed as if he were about to struggle despite the wound and blood loss.

"Hey, bud, it's all right. They just want to help. You've got to be calm so you don't start bleeding again, okay?" I was terrified that he was going to bleed out before Sven and Phlegma could patch him up.

The dragon relaxed somewhat and laid his head back down.

Sven gave me a grin. "Looks like he understood you there."

He was joking, but the truth was that dragon _did_ understand me. I knew it didn't make any sense, but I knew in my heart that he did.

"We need to sedate him so we can clean the wound and see what we're dealing with." Sven was all business now.

"You'll feel a little pinch, but it's all right. It'll help you to sleep while they're taking care of you. When you wake up, you'll feel much better," I explained to the dragon.

Both vets gave me odd looks and I could feel myself turning red. I was already considered the odd kid on Berk; I could only imagine how people would laugh about me holding conversations with a dragon. But the dragon remained calm and that was the most important thing.

The next hours passed in a blur. Once the ebony dragon was unconscious, Phlegma and Sven bathed and stitched the wound. I washed blood off my hands in the pool but it wasn't sterile so I couldn't help. I stood at the dragon's head and just watched while they worked. They considered trying to bandage it, but the shoulder was a difficult place to bandage on an animal.

"He'd probably rip it off anyway," Phlegma sighed. "We'll have to hope that antibiotics will be enough."

"Is he going to be all right then?" I asked. If anyone had told me that morning that I would be so anxious over a _dragon_, I would have thought they were crazy, but I couldn't deny it—I felt a real bond this guy.

"Well, I hope so," Sven answered. "He lost a lot of blood, but at least he'll be too weak to fly for a few days, maybe a week or so. That'll give us time to get some antibiotics in his system to fight infection."

"Maybe the shoulder can heal a little, too," Phlegma added. "We don't want him to rip the stitches out being too active too soon."

They explained that he would need to take antibiotics several times a day—the easiest way would be to mix powdered medicine into his food.

"I could help with that," I offered.

They exchanged looks. "We shouldn't let you. He's a wild animal and you're a minor. But it would be a big help. We're short-staffed at the Center," Phlegma said slowly.

So we agreed that they would come to the cove in the morning, to check on the dragon and give him his first dose, and I would go over to the Center later to pick up medicine. After that, I would be responsible for feeding and dosing him.

"But be careful and don't take chances," Sven warned. "I would hate to have to face your father if anything happened."

"What kind of dragon is he, anyway?" I asked. I've certainly never cared to study dragons in depth before, but I know the basic types—Gronkles, Nadders, Nightmares. But this one was subtly different. He almost looked like a cross between a dragon and a cat.

"A Night Fury," Sven answered. "You don't often see one. I hope he'll pull through."

They began gathering their things.

"Wait, you're just leaving him? Shouldn't someone stay with him?"

Phlegma gave me a kind look. "He's a wild animal, Hiccup, not a pet."

I frowned. "But he's hurt."

"He may be disoriented when he comes out of sedation," she went on more firmly. "And a disoriented dragon can be a dangerous dragon. It's safer if he's alone when he wakes up."

"How did you get in here?" Sven asked, looking around as he and Phlegma prepared to climb out.

I pointed to the narrow gap in the side of the nearest wall.

"You can fit through there?" They looked incredulous.

I nodded. "I do it all the time."

"Well, you'd better hurry home. It's getting dark," Phlegma told me. "We'll see you tomorrow."

It was getting late. I hated to leave the Night Fury, in spite of Phlegma's words. He seemed so helpless lying there hurt and unconscious. But Dad was very strict about me being home by dark and he was already displeased about Mom calling earlier.

I ran all the way home, but still Dad had finished dinner by the time I burst through the double front doors. He was sitting at his huge carved desk in the study, waiting for me.

"Hamish Stoick Vastley, come in here please."

I went to stand before the desk and tried not to fidget while he studied me with cool disapproval.

"I assume you have a good reason for being home so late."

"Actually I do." I told him about the Night Fury and helping Sven and Phlegma, though I did have the sense not to mention that I was going to be caring for the dragon from now on.

If anything, Dad seemed to grow even angrier. "That's not an excuse! You're not a veterinarian. Once the Jensens arrived, there was no reason for you to stay. You were gone all afternoon without leaving word to anyone and then you come home late. Did it ever occur to you that if something happened, no one would know where you are?"

"Dad, nothing happened," I began to protest, but then he stood up and glared down at me so fiercely that I stopped and bowed my head. "I'm sorry."

"Since dinner was obviously not important to you, you may go on to bed," Dad said coldly. "I trust you'll remember the rules in the future."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled and escaped upstairs.

I took a quick shower, but when I went to my room I didn't go to bed. I dressed in warm clothes and packed a flashlight and some blankets into a duffel bag. I prayed Dad would sleep soundly because I had made up my mind.

As soon as he retired for the night, I was going back to the cove to check on my dragon.

Author's Notes: Sly is Snotlout. I've tried to keep most of the names the same, but I just couldn't accept having a modern kid named Snotlout. Also, Hiccup's real names is Hamish Stoick Vastley, but he goes by the nickname Hiccup so hopefully that won't really matter.

It may seem that Hiccup changed his attitude towards dragons very abruptly, but didn't he do that in the movie too? Hiccup in this story didn't really hate dragons-he's too kindhearted to hate anything. He's hurt that his mother loved dragons more than him and he blamed them for that. But he is a gentle soul and when he saw Toothless desperately hurt and needing help, he automatically went to him. Then when their eyes met and he recognized something of himself in the dragon, it created an instant kinship for him.

Sven and Phlegma played a more prominent role here than I had intended simply because they are the veterinarians and Toothless was hurt. They are not major characters but may have minor roles as the story goes on.

Please review! It means a lot to an author!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Dad is fairly predictable, which made it easier for me. He goes to bed by eleven, except sometimes when he's hosting an evening event, and in the mornings, he's up with the sun. Sure enough, the tall grandfather clock in the hall was chiming the hour when I heard Dad's footsteps on the stairs. I turned out the light and pulled the bedcovers up to my chin, just in case he looked in on me. He does that occasionally—check on me once he thinks I'm asleep. I'm not sure why because he never comes into my room or speaks, just cracks the door open and peers in like he wants to make sure I'm still there.

Which doesn't make sense to me because, despite my plan to sneak out that night and go back to my dragon, it would be the first time I'd ever done anything like that. Why would I sneak out? It's not like I have any friends to hang out with.

Dad paused at my door, but after a moment he moved on without opening the door. I laid there for a little while longer, just to make sure he was safely in his own suite of rooms down the hall, before getting up. I did that old trick of arranging my pillows in a line on my bed and tucking my blankets around them, just in case Dad came back, although that seemed unlikely. Then I grabbed my phone and the duffel bag and went to my door.

Cautiously, I looked out. Dad's door at the end of the hall was closed so I slipped out into the wide upstairs hall. It was dark, but moonlight shone through the tall mullioned windows at the stair landing, illuminating the long gallery and the great oak staircase. I crept downstairs, then through the spacious entrance hall past the double drawing rooms, the study, the library and the dining room, to the kitchen at the back of the house.

Fish is plentiful on Berk and our housekeeper Mrs. Holt usually had some in the refrigerator. Dragons typically ate fish, so I selected a couple, put them in a bag, and then replaced them with a few from the freezer. The frozen fish should thaw out before Mrs. Holt needed to cook them so I didn't think she would notice I had taken a few.

There were several dishes of leftovers in the fridge too, soup, stuffed chicken, and roasted potatoes. My stomach growled, reminding me that I hadn't eaten for hours. I was pretty hungry by then and I was tempted to fix a plate for myself. Mrs. Holt probably would notice the missing leftovers but she wouldn't tell on me.

But going without dinner was my punishment and it would be disobeying Dad to eat before breakfast. So I sighed, closed the refrigerator door, and went back to the mud room. I had dressed warmly, in a black mockneck sweater, lined jeans, woolen socks, and hiking boots. But I decided to take a coat too. Even in summer, Berk can be cool during the day and downright cold at night, especially with the sea breezes that blow over the island almost continuously. My lightweight blue jacket was fine for daytime, but for tonight I selected a navy-blue wool pea coat.

Thankfully I remembered to disarm the security system before I opened the back door. The alarm going off would have put a quick stop to my adventure, for sure! Once outside, I used my phone to set it again before I took off past the gardens towards the woods.

The full moon shone almost as brightly as day. If Dad had happened to look out his back window he could have plainly seen me, or at least he could have seen a figure crossing the lawn even if he didn't know it was me. But when I looked back at the manor house, his rooms were dark and I made it to the forest without incident.

The woods were much darker; the thick canopy of leaves overhead blocked much of the light. I pulled the flashlight from the duffel bag and picked my way carefully along the path. As I walked along, I worried about the Night Fury. He had lost a lot of blood, maybe too much. Maybe he had gone into shock. Maybe he was cold or scared or had pulled his stitches out. Sven had said that the dragon would be too weak to fly away for a while and I hoped he was right. If the Fury tried to fly right now, he could rip the shoulder wound open and start bleeding again, or crash and hurt himself even worse.

I was so busy worrying that I forgot to pay attention to where I was going. I tripped over a fallen branch and almost went sprawling. I managed to catch myself but dropped the flashlight. It rolled into a patch of clover at the side of the path.

"Oh, well done, Klutz," I muttered to myself in disgust. "No wonder no one ever wants you on their team."

I knelt down to pick up the flashlight, but then I paused. The beam of light shone on a silver cylinder lying on the ground a short distance away. A thick needle jutted from one end so I picked it up carefully. I looked at it a moment, not entirely sure what it was. Could someone have been in the woods to use drugs? We had a groundskeeper and a landscape crew that took care of the lawns and gardens, but they didn't usually go into the forest. It looked awfully big for humans to use anyway, but then again, I'm pretty naïve about drugs so I wasn't sure. In any case, it didn't belong out here where an animal or even a person might step on it. I unzipped a side pocket on my duffel bag and placed it inside. Then I hurried on, though I was careful to watch my step.

When I finally squeezed the narrow gap in the rock face, I had to blink because in the clearing of the cove the moonlight was so bright again. At once, I realized the Night Fury had moved. He was no longer lying there near the opening. I looked around frantically but I didn't see him. He couldn't have flown away after all, could he?

I started exploring around the cove, searching for him. There were some boulders on the far side of the pool that I thought he might have hidden behind so I started towards them. Just as I reached them, I heard a low growl behind me.

For a second I froze, then very slowly I turned around to find the Night Fury a few feet away, growling and watching me with narrowed eyes.

"Hey, bud. It's me," I said softly. "You remember me, don't you? I'm Hiccup. I'm your friend. At least, I'd like to be."

He stopped growling and studied me thoughtfully.

'I brought you some fish. Are you hungry?"

I set the duffel bag down, and, kneeling, unzipped it, but the dragon didn't like my sudden movements and crouched down, growling again.

I stilled. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. I've got food."

Very slowly, I pulled out the bag of fish and took one from it. I stayed in a kneeling position as I held the fish out towards him.

The Night Fury sniffed and crept closer. He opened his mouth and I exclaimed in surprise, "Hey, you're—"

Suddenly a row of sharp white teeth popped out of his upper and lower jaws and he snatched the fish from my hands.

"Toothless," I finished quietly.

I fed him the second fish. "I'm sorry. That's all."

Apparently he was still hungry because he came limping towards me. He looked so intent that I couldn't help but scramble backwards. After all, I might want to be friends, but I wasn't sure if he did. But I couldn't go far because I backed into a boulder.

"No, no. That's all. I don't have any more."

The dragon made retching noises and then regurgitated half a fish into my lap. I looked down at it and then back up at him. "Are you sick, bud?"

He sat back, looked down at the fish, and back at me.

I just stared at him blankly and he repeated the motion. I too looked at the slimy, regurgitated fish and back at him.

Surely he didn't expect me to eat it, did he?

But he kept looking back and forth between the fish and me. Finally I picked it up and took a very small bite. It was the nastiest thing I have ever tasted and I almost spat it out. But the Night Fury seemed pleased, though after a moment he started making swallowing motions.

I honestly thought I would be sick and I did gag a little trying to force that bite of fish down, but I managed it. I smiled weakly at the Night Fury.

And then he smiled back! He really did, a funny gummy smile with his teeth retracted again (how did he do that?), but it was definitely a smile.

I reached out to pet him, but he drew back and growled again.

"Sorry. I thought we were friends," I mumbled, feeling a little hurt. But then again, why would he want to be friends with a loser like me?

I looked away, ashamed of the tears that burned my eyes. It was stupid, but it just seemed like no one ever wanted me, no matter how hard I tried. I was used to Dad's constant disapproval and the other kids ignoring or mocking me, but I had hoped that maybe this time I had finally found a friend.

But maybe I had just imagined that bond that had seemed to spark between us.

A warm breath ruffled my hair. I looked up to find the Night Fury right there, staring down at me. The expression on his face almost looked sad and concerned.

I bit my lip and slowly reached out again, ducking my head so I wasn't looking right in his eyes.

And then he pressed his snout into my hand.

For a timeless moment we stood still. Then he pulled away, but crooned softly at me.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Eventually we ended up with him curled on the ground, his head in my lap while I leaned back against the boulder and stroked his head and neck. The night was cold but I didn't need the blankets I had packed. The Night Fury was warm. Gentle heat radiated from his scales and kept me warm too. I worried that he had a fever, but the shoulder wound seemed all right, as far as I could tell. He hadn't pulled the stitches out, at least. And he obviously had a good appetite. He must be in some pain—he had limped when he walked—but it didn't seem too severe. He didn't have any trouble falling asleep anyway

I set an alarm on my phone—I had to be back home before dawn—and dozed off and on for the next few hours.

The dragon and I both jumped awake when the alarm went off. We struggled to our feet and I grabbed the duffel bag.

"I've got to go now, bud. Sven and Phlegma are going to come this morning to check on you and they'll bring you some breakfast. I'll come back later, too."

But the Night Fury didn't want me to leave. He whined and grabbed my coat between his (now visible) teeth.

I placed my hands on either side of his face and leaned my forehead against his. "I know. I don't want to leave either. But if Dad catches me out, I'll be grounded for the rest of my natural life. I'll come back, Toothless. I promise."

He still didn't like it. He was whining as I left, sounding both anxious and cross, but he let me leave and for the second time in twelve hours I raced through the woods towards home.

I was luckier this time. I made it back home without being caught. I checked the security system with my phone before opening the mud room door, and my heart nearly stopped when I saw that someone else had already disarmed it. But when I slipped inside, everything was quiet. I hung up my coat and tiptoed down the narrow side hall.

A light was on the kitchen and I glimpsed Mrs. Holt bustling around, but she didn't see me. She must have been the one to turn off the security system, not Dad, thank goodness.

But he would be awake soon, if he wasn't already, so I quickly hurried upstairs to my room. I was just in time. Almost as soon as I had closed my door, I heard Dad coming down the hall. He usually takes a long walk outside in the morning unless the weather is truly horrible.

He likes to trek about alone so he didn't stop at my door. I would be expected downstairs for breakfast in an hour, but that was fine. Sometimes I didn't like having to get up so early, but right now I was starving. In a few minutes, once Dad had left, I might go on down and help Mrs. Holt cook breakfast. I could sample a few bites while we cooked. I figured that would be all right. It was morning now and close enough to breakfast that my punishment should be over.

I flopped down on my bed and took a deep shaky breath. I had made it!

And I finally had a friend.

Author's Notes: I'm not sure if anyone is interested, but I picture Llangoed Hall in Wales as the Vastley manor house. It looks nothing like the chief's house in the movies, I know, but I'm not sure the modern population would still be living in those medieval Viking-style homes anyway. As the Vastley family has always been quite wealthy, they had a grand mansion built in the 18th-century. To me, Llangoed Hall is beautiful and grand, but also has a warm 'home-like' quality, and it's certainly big enough that Toothless that could easily fit inside and live there (eventually).

To June, I don't know if you're reading this story, but I want to thank you for the wonderful, in-depth reviews! I think you must be reading my mind, lol, and we seem to be on the same track on stories in the 'Smacked' universe. As a guest, I can't respond to you through PM, but I did want to thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Three

I was helping Mrs. Holt set dishes of scrambled eggs and smoked salmon on the table in the dining room when I heard Dad come in. Mrs. Holt's husband, who is our butler, set the silver coffee pot down and went to take Dad's coat.

"Ah, thank you, Cleftjaw. Please tell Martin not to bring the car around until eleven. I'm going to work at home this morning before going downtown," Dad said as he entered the dining room. He smiled at Mrs. Holt. "Thank you, Greta. This looks delicious."

The Holts left and Dad and I sat down, Dad at the head of the table and me beside him. We were dressed similarly, in sweaters, jeans, and hiking boots, but Dad's sweater was dark green. He wears green a lot, maybe because he's got red hair and green eyes so it's a good color for him. My hair is more reddish-brown, but I've got green eyes too. And funnily enough, so does Mom, even though green is supposed to be a rare eye color.

Dad nodded curtly to me. "Good morning, Hiccup."

What does it say about our relationship that he's more comfortable and gracious with our butler and housekeeper than he is with me? But at least he didn't seem angry with me anymore-well, no more than usual.

"Good morning, Dad," I answered quietly.

We helped ourselves to the eggs and salmon and ate in silence for a while. It was not until we were finishing up and Dad reached to pour himself a second cup of coffee that he spoke again.

"I've been talking with your Aunt Hildegard. She tells me that Sly and the other kids your age are going to be volunteering at the Wildlife Center this summer to meet their community service requirement."

I glanced over at Dad warily, pretty sure I wasn't going to like where he was going with this.

"I'll call over there and let Sven and Phlegma know that you'll be joining them." Dad gave me a stern look, warning me not to argue.

I ignored it. "Dad, I already worked on the 'Keep The Oceans Clean' project, and the fundraiser for the new computer lab, and I've helped Gobber at the Regatta the past two summers."

Dad frowned at me. "Hiccup, as the mayor's son, it's important for you to be out there supporting the community. People need to see that our family cares about Berk, about them. It's bad enough that you don't attend the public school. The least you can do is help out with local events."

"I do, plenty of times," I grumbled.

"I've had enough of your selfish, spoiled attitude. You will join your cousin helping at the Wildlife Center, starting tomorrow morning, from nine to noon. If I hear another word from you, I'll find something to keep you busy in the afternoons as well." Dad stood up and started to stalk out of the room, but at the door he paused and snapped, "And don't be late for dinner tonight. The Jorgensons are coming over."

Wonderful. My day was just getting better and better.

After Dad left, I sat at the table for a while. There was still some food on my plate but I had lost my appetite and just played at cutting it into smaller and smaller bites. My anger vanished along with Dad, leaving me feeling miserable and guilty.

I didn't mean to be selfish and spoiled. It's not that I don't care about Berk or the oceans or anything like that. But Dad has been dragging me around for years making me help with all these projects and sometimes it would be nice if he _asked_ and gave me a choice instead of just ordering me around and telling me what I'm going to be doing.

Or if he would actually spend time with me at these events and we could work on things together, but no, he usually pawns me off on Gobber or any other adult around and then he takes off to work somewhere else, away from me. But if I make any kind of mistake, he hears about it and promptly shows up to yell at me.

Dad does genuinely care about Berk and its people, I know that, but it's also true that he cares about our 'image' and that's part of why he insists that I always help out with things—because he's the mayor and I'm his son and it 'looks good' for me to be there.

The fact that I haven't attended public school since I was seven is another sore point that has to do with his image—that it 'looks bad' for the mayor's kid not to go to the schools on Berk like everyone else. Dad often brings it up like it's my fault, like I deliberately arranged the whole situation just to annoy him or something.

I did start out at Berk Primary School in Year One, just like Sly and the other kids, but I was constantly sick and missed class all the time. I caught every cold and stomach bug that went around and several times it developed into something more serious like bronchitis or pneumonia. I never had any trouble making up the work. I might not have any common sense, but I'm very good at academics.

But in Year Two, I spent most of the winter in the hospital with a nagging case of pneumonia that just wouldn't clear up. After that, Dr. Gothburg told Dad that I needed to be taught at home for a few years until I grew stronger. So I had a tutor for a while and then I started taking correspondence classes on the computer.

When I was ten, Dad decided I should try going back to real school, but it didn't work out. After several years of working at my own pace, I was so far ahead academically that the school couldn't decide what to do with me. Everyone agreed that putting shrimpy little me in high school with kids twice my size was a bad idea. But keeping me with my own age group was a curriculum nightmare for the teachers. So in the end, I just kept on taking online classes at home.

Some people might think that sounds sad. I'm not sure how I feel about it. Sometimes I wonder if I might have friends if I could have stayed in school with the other kids when we were all little. From what I've seen and read, school does seem like it could be fun if you have friends. But I have been around the other kids from time to time, just from living on Berk, and none of them like me. So school might have been really awful, too. It wouldn't be fun at all to have to spend so much time every day with kids who either ignore me or pick on me.

Which is the real reason that I'm upset about having to spend time at the Wildlife Center. I don't think I would mind if I could go over there alone. It would probably be pretty interesting. I like animals, and since I met Toothless, I might even learn to like dragons in general. There are other animals there besides dragons anyway.

But I won't be working there alone.

Sly and his friends will be in high school come fall and Berk High School has a community service requirement as part of its civics class. There are several options, but students have to complete a certain number of hours volunteering at some charitable or civic activity. So it sounds like they're all going to get it out of the way this summer working at the Wildlife Rehab Center.

And I'll be spending every morning there with them.

_Thanks, Dad. Way to ruin my summer_.

I considered asking if I could go in the afternoons, but had to discard that idea. If I asked Dad, then he would want to know why—for some reason, he refuses to believe that Sly and I can't put aside our differences and get along. Then he would tell me that I'm being ridiculous and that it was high time I made friends with kids my age—once again ignoring the fact that the kids my age are not exactly eager to be friends with me. If Dad's really on a roll, I'll be treated to a glorious recount of his own school days, when he was captain of both the hockey and rugby teams, class president, and everyone-students and teachers alike-adored him.

He'll finish by gazing at me with this frustrated, puzzled expression, like he's wondering whether the stork brought him the right kid after all or if there might be a younger Stoick-clone out there somewhere.

I couldn't just arrange to go in the afternoons without Dad's permission either. Sly would be sure to discover that I was supposed to be there in the mornings with everyone else-Aunt Hildegard may have already told him—and he would be sure to say something in front of Dad, at a family dinner or at church on Sunday. Then Dad and I would be having that exact same conversation, only in front of witnesses.

So I was stuck. I helped the Holts clear the table and then I stomped upstairs to brood for a while before I headed to the Wildlife Center to get Toothless' medicine.

The sky was gray and overcast when I rode my bike to the Center later that morning. I was not in the best of moods, but when I arrived Phlegma was throwing pails of fish to some dragons in a big enclosure. She waved me over with a smile and her brisk, cheery attitude didn't leave me much time to feel sorry for myself.

"Hey, Hiccup, can you give me a hand here? We just got back from checking on the Night Fury a little while ago and we're behind on feeding everyone." She laughed and gestured towards the dragons. "These guys get a little grumpy when they're hungry."

I went over to toss fish to a Deadly Nadder. "How is he, the Night Fury?" I asked eagerly. Toothless had seemed to be doing well earlier, but that was several hours ago and I wanted to hear the vets' opinions.

"As well as can be expected," Phlegma answered. "The wound was deep and he lost a lot of blood, but there's no fever and he's eating. Those are good signs."

"I noticed he was kind of warm last-yesterday," I amended swiftly. "I was afraid he might have a fever."

"No, dragons are always warm to the touch because of their inner fire cavity," Phlegma explained. "That's why they can stay active year-round even in cold climates like the Archipelago. They're cold-blooded like most reptiles, you know, so without their fire cavity to keep their body temperature regulated, they would have to hibernate for the winter."

She paused and gave me a sharp look. "The Night Fury was badly injured yesterday and so he was weakened, but you know you can't touch wild dragons, right, Hiccup? That's very, very dangerous."

I nodded. Every child on Berk grows up learning how to be safe around the dragons, the same way we learn the alphabet and our address.

But Phlegma didn't seem convinced. "Promise that you will not touch any wild dragons."

I promised easily, because Toothless wasn't any wild dragon. He was my friend. Besides, it was a little late for that promise. I'd already petted him and sat with his head in my lap for most of the night.

But Toothless wasn't dangerous, not to me. And it wasn't like I was planning to jump on his back and take off flying anyway.

We watched the dragons in the enclosure for a few minutes. A green and red Zippleback reached for the pile of haddock with one of its heads, but the Nadder snapped at it and it withdrew, giving the Nadder a look that almost seemed hurt.

"Honestly, it wouldn't hurt you to share, would it?" Phlegma asked the Nadder, who ignored her and continued to gobble her meal in solitary splendor.

"Normally they get along well, but that Nadder does like her food," Phlegma told me as she threw another pail of fish towards the Zippleback.

A Gronckle came running over to the fence, squealing. I stepped back but Phlegma laughed. "All right, you big meatlug, we'll give you a second helping too. Hiccup, grab that bucket by the wall and throw it to her, will you?"

I went to get the yellow plastic bucket and was surprised to see it filled with rocks instead of fish. "Is this the right one?" I asked uncertainly.

"Yes, Gronckles prefer to eat rocks, of all things."

So I tossed the rocks into the pen and the Gronckle dove right in. After a few bites, she looked up at me and barked happily, just a dog—a very big dog.

I laughed. "She seems pretty tame."

Phlegma nodded. "Well, Gronckles are considered more docile than some of the other types, and this one has been here a while so she's used to people, but she can still be dangerous. She's not a pet."

A loud angry snarl cut off my response. The enclosure was even larger than I had realized at first, the fence stretching out of sight beyond a grove of fir trees on the horizon. Suddenly a large red dragon, a Monstrous Nightmare, charged from the shadows of the firs and chased the Gronckle and the Zippleback away from their food.

Phlegma pushed me back from the fence, stepping back herself and keeping a sharp eye on him. "Stay away from this one. He's definitely not docile."

The Nightmare sniffed disdainfully at the Gronckle's rocks and swallowed the remains of the Zippleback's fish in one gulp. He started towards the Nadder, who hadn't even blinked at his antics until then, but she hissed and flapped her wings and after a moment the Nightmare slunk away, grumbling.

"I'm surprised Dad's willing to have me work around dragons," I remarked. "He's always been dead set against it before."

"Well, actually, he did say that you're to work in the aviary with the birds and for us to keep you away from the dragons," Phlegma frowned. "I guess I shouldn't have let you help feed them. Thanks for volunteering, by the way. You kids will be a big help around here."

"You're welcome," I answered. She didn't need to know that I wasn't thrilled about it. Though actually, it wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to work with the other kids, too.

I gestured at the enclosure. "You have a lot of dragons now. The other times I've been here there were only one or two, or none at all."

Phlegma grimaced. "Yes, it's unusual to have four large ones at once. To be honest, Sven and I are concerned. There's been an upswing in dragon poaching over the past couple months. Every one of these guys was injured by a poacher. Well, we're pretty sure, at least. Their wounds weren't consistent with the natural injuries we usually see."

Dragons are endangered animals. There are several preserves, like the one Mom works at, where people are working to save them. The Archipelago isn't a preserve, but it is still illegal to hunt dragons.

But we still have trouble with poachers from time to time, for various reasons. Dragon saliva has healing properties, if it comes from a living dragon. I know about this because Mom has told me about it when we skype. Dracologists and medical researchers are doing lots of experiments to figure out how to use dragon saliva in medicines. Also, dragon scales are fire-proof and some people like to wear them as jewelry, though that's fallen out of fashion these days. Dragons shed scales, but slowly, so to collect a serious amount of them, you either need to be patient or have access to a lot of dragons.

Or you would have to kill the dragon.

I've also heard that dragon meat is considered a delicacy, and in some parts of the world they believe that dragon hearts have magical powers.

I realized that Phlegma was still talking, "—still had the tranq dart lodged in his shoulder."

Tranq dart…I thought of the large silver shot-thing I had found in the woods last night. Could Toothless have been shot with a tranq dart? I didn't have it with me, but maybe I'd bring it tomorrow and ask Phlegma or Sven if I could get them alone.

"That's terrible," I said.

"Yes, well, the Archipelago Guards are keeping a close watch, but these poachers have been very careful so far. No one's been able to catch sight of them." Phlegma sighed. "Well, let's go get that medicine for the Night Fury."

We went inside one of the buildings, a low one-story structure made of gray stone. The front area was set up like a teaching area, with several benches in a semi-circle around a table, a gift shop over towards the other side of the room, and an information desk with brochures in one corner. Phlegma led the way through a door to the back room.

It was more like a veterinarian's office, with an examining table, a cabinet, and cages along one wall, several of which contained sick or hurt animals—a rabbit with a bandaged leg, a puffin with a splinted wing, and several Terrible Terrors. I couldn't tell what was wrong with them.

The room also contained a black-haired boy about nine or ten, who was standing next to cage with a Terror. He was talking to it, and I'm sure he was sticking his fingers through the bars though he jumped away as soon as we came in.

"I wasn't petting it, Aunt Phlegma."

"Gustav!" She pointed to a chair by another wall. "Go sit there and don't move. You know if you get hurt, your mother won't let you come by here anymore."

"Gadget wouldn't hurt me. She's very friendly," Gustav protested, but he went to sit in the chair.

"Gustav, you can't try to tame the Terrors. We've told you a hundred times you could get hurt, and even if you don't, most of these animals are going to be released back into the wild. It's bad for them too, if you get them accustomed to humans."

"Gadget doesn't want to be released back into the wild. She wants to stay with me."

Phlegma sighed. "I thought you were going with Uncle Sven while he made calls."

Gustav shook his head. "I wanted to stay here with you."

"You mean you wanted to stay here and try to make pets out of the Terrors." Phlegma suddenly seemed to remember that I was there. She hurried to get a bag from the cabinet and handed it to me. "All right, Hiccup. Here you go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow morning."

"Okay." I nodded. "Well, bye then."

But she followed as I left.

"We really shouldn't let you do this. I don't think your father would approve at all."

_Then let's make sure he doesn't find out._ I thought but I only said, "It's fine. I'm careful."

"Well, just stand at the top of the cove and throw the fish down to him. Don't go down there with the dragon, Hiccup. Promise?"

I hated to lie, but that was one thing I couldn't promise.

Fortunately for me, just then Gustav called from the back room. "Aunt Phlegma, can a Terror eat a rabbit?"

"Gustav!" Phlegma spun and ran to the back room before I had to lie to her. I hesitated, wondering if I should go back there too, in case they needed help. But a moment later I heard a cage door slam shut and then Phlegma scolding Gustav, so I guess she had things under control.

I hurried outside to my bike and sped off. I couldn't wait to see Toothless again.

Author's Notes: Please review and thank you to all who have! I really appreciate it!

Also, I know next week will be very busy for me and I will not have much time to write, if any. So I may not get to work on the next chapter for "Stepping Forward" until next weekend. I just wanted you to know why it might be a little longer than usual for an update. But I will work on it next weekend.


	4. Chapter 4

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Four

When I got to the cove Toothless was by the pond drinking water. He noticed me at once and hurried towards me as fast as he could, warbling a noise that sounded like, "Icka, Icka."

"Hey, bud!" I set down the bag I was carrying and ran to greet him too. He pushed his head against me and then licked my face and hair, leaving them damp and messy.

"That's okay, Toothless, I've already had a shower," I laughed and scratched his head behind the ear fins. "I missed you too, buddy. What have you been up to? Were you good for Sven and Phlegma? She said you were doing well. Let's see how that shoulder looks?"

The shoulder wound looked the same as it had earlier, to me at least, but it was still stitched up so that was good.

I decided that we might as well get the medicine-taking over with so I went to empty the bag of fish on the ground. I had already put the antibiotic pills down inside one of them. Hopefully Toothless wouldn't even notice that one fish contained his medicine.

"Want some lunch? Does this look good?"

Apparently it did because Toothless slurped the fish down with no hesitation, including the one with the pills. I was a little relieved. I had worried that the fish with the medicine might taste differently and that he would refuse it. And then what would I have done? Was I brave enough to try to force the pills down his throat?

Probably not. But, as I thought about it, I realized that I wasn't afraid to do so. Somehow I knew that Toothless would never shoot fire at me or try to hurt me, but I didn't want him to think that I would ever try to hurt him or force him to do something. And he might think that. He might not understand that he needed to take the medicine for his own good.

So I suppose I would have had to go back to Sven and Phlegma and let them worry about how to get the Night Fury to take medicine, if Toothless hadn't been cooperative with me. But I was glad that wasn't necessary. I liked it better with no one else coming to hang around the cove, for it to just be Toothless and me.

Since Toothless had eaten his lunch, I rummaged around in the bag for my own and pulled out a sandwich and a thermos of tea. Toothless was watching me with that same considering look he had had before so I quickly unwrapped my ham and cheese sandwich and took a bite. I was thrilled that we had bonded, but I really didn't want to eat any more regurgitated fish.

"Thanks, bud, but I'm good. You can keep the fish all to yourself."

Toothless made a huffing noise and curled up around me. I started to lean back against him, then hesitated. I didn't want to hurt him, but this was his good shoulder, not the wounded one, and he actually turned his head and gave me a little nudge, as if he wanted me to lean against him. So I did, cautiously at first and then when he seemed fine with it, I relaxed and let my full weight rest against him.

Toothless gave me an approving look.

"Yea, this is nice," I told him. "I just didn't want to hurt you."

I swear, Toothless huffed again and the expression on his face plainly said 'As if a little thing like you could.'

"Hey, now, I'm not that small!" I protested. But then I sighed. "Okay, maybe I am. You're probably like a million times stronger than me, right?"

But something had hurt him anyway. I remembered what Phlegma had said about the dragon poachers.

"I wish you could tell me what happened to you. I found this thing like a shot in the woods. Did poachers shoot you with a tranquilizer? Did you crash and hurt your shoulder?"

Toothless growled softly, a growl that sounded both pained and angry and I patted his neck. "Okay, we don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

He settled back down and I ate my sandwich. For a while afterwards we stayed like that, with me leaning back on Toothless while he lay curled around me. The sun shone down; between that and feeling safe and warm with Toothless, I dozed for a while. It reminded me of the previous night when we had sat together.

But eventually I stirred and Toothless raised his head to look at me. "Maybe it's crazy, Toothless—I've only known you a couple of days and you're a dragon—but you're the best friend I've ever had. The only friend, really."

He rumbled back at me and I scratched the side of his face. "I wish I could just stay here forever. I hate it at home. You wouldn't think so since it's this big, beautiful mansion and we're so rich. You'd think I would be the happiest kid in the world, wouldn't you? Nothing to worry about. Maybe I should be. But it's always so quiet and lonely—except when Dad's yelling at me about something."

I swallowed hard. "You want to know something, Toothless? He doesn't like me at all. I'm not even sure why. I'm not that bad a kid, you know. I could be a lot worse, couldn't I? I try to do what he says and not cause trouble, but it's just never enough."

"I know I'm not what he wanted. But I can't help being short and skinny. It's not my choice. If I could, I'd make myself be more like Sly. He's my cousin. He's tall and he's got muscles. He plays hockey like Dad did, and he's got lots of friends. Well, maybe not lots just because there aren't a whole lot of kids our age on Berk, but he is friends with all the kids who are here."

I sighed. "And I've got to have dinner with them tonight. Aunt Hilley and Uncle Spite and Sly. Well, Aunt Hilley and Uncle Spite are all right. But after we eat, the grown-ups will go off and leave me with Sly. At least he quit hitting me a few years ago, but if he can find a way to put me down, he will. I wish I could get sick and miss it."

I told Toothless about having to work at the Center starting tomorrow morning, how I dreaded being around the other kids, and about all the dragons that were recovering there. Toothless listened intently, with such a concerned expression that I was sure he understood everything I was saying.

But finally I shook my head. "Well, I guess that's enough complaining, huh? You've got better things to do than listen to all my life's problems."

Toothless looked at his wounded shoulder and then back to me with an expression that seemed to say 'Like what?'

"Do you get bored here? Well, your shoulder will be well soon and then—"I stopped abruptly, not wanting to think about when Toothless was healed. I wanted him to get well, of course, but when he could run and fly again, would he leave forever? What would I do then? Like I'd told Toothless, I may have only known him for two days, but life without him would be lonelier than ever.

I jumped to my feet. "Hey, could I take some pictures of you? Maybe next time I'll bring my notebook and pencils and do some sketches."

Toothless let me take some pictures of him with my phone. In fact, he climbed to his feet and I'd swear he was posing for them, arching his neck and tilting his head. Once he started to spread his wings but that must have hurt him because he gave a sharp cry and looked back at his left shoulder.

I checked to be sure he hadn't pulled the stitches and rubbed his head. "You okay, bud? Don't worry. It'll heal. You just have to give it time."

Toothless sighed and rested his head against my shoulder. I kept petting him. "I promise. It'll be fine. Just be careful and let it heal."

We walked around the cove and on the far side of the pond I noticed that the ground was soft and loamy. A thin sharp stick lying near a rock caught my eye. Maybe I could sketch Toothless after all.

"What do you say, Toothless? Want to have your portrait drawn by the great artiste, Master Hiccup Vastley?" I put on a false accent as I picked up the stick and twirled it around.

He just looked at me with amused tolerance at first as I knelt and began drawing his picture in the dirt, but then he became more interested, leaning over my shoulder and watching intently. Suddenly he stood up on his hind legs and walked over to a grove of saplings. I was so startled I stopped drawing and just stared at him. I had no idea that he could walk upright like that.

Toothless snapped one of the saplings in half by taking it between his jaws and giving a quick shake with his neck. I was impressed—he really was about a million times stronger than I was. Then he began drawing, circling and spinning all around me, dragging the tree in the dirt as he went. I had to duck once to keep from being hit in the head with a side branch.

When he had finished, Toothless surveyed his work with a proud nod and then looked to see if I appreciated his talent. Honestly, it just looked like a bunch of swirly lines to me, but he definitely seemed proud of himself. I don't know if dragons in the wild drew on their own or if Toothless wanted to interact with me by copying what I did, but either way, it was pretty amazing. Obviously, dragons were highly intelligent creatures, even more than I had realized. Maybe I could talk with Mom about that the next time we spoke.

"Great job, bud. I didn't know that dragons could draw. I really like that squiggly loop over there." I moved towards the squiggly loop and was startled when Toothless growled at me.

"What's wrong?" I started to step towards him and he stopped growling and looked at me, all happy again.

But when I took another step, he growled again.

We repeated this scenario a couple times and I was about to get upset that Toothless was growling at me, when I suddenly realized that he growled when I stepped on his drawing and was happy when I stepped over the lines.

"Oh," I grinned at him. "I got it now."

So I twisted and turned as I carefully made my way through the labyrinth of his drawing. It was rather like playing a game, or dancing, and I laughed when I made it to Toothless' side without stepping on any more lines.

He butted me with his head, gently, and I patted his neck. "Well, that was fun, but I'm afraid I've got to go now."

He growled again, unhappily.

"I know, but I told you we're having that family dinner tonight and I've got to get cleaned up for it. If I'm late again, Dad will be furious. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon, I promise!"

Reluctantly I left the cove and started for home. It was the first time since I'd found Toothless that I wasn't racing through the woods at breakneck speed, which is probably why I happened to glance up and notice that some of the trees were broken in two, and that the broken trees followed a line from the spot where I'd found the tranquilizer dart (for surely that must be what it was) towards the cove.

Well, I might never know for sure, but I'd bet a hundred kroner that poachers had shot Toothless with the dart as he was flying, causing him to crash through the trees into the cove, injuring his shoulder as he fell.

But where exactly had Toothless been when he had been shot? How far could he have flown before the sedative affected him enough to cause a fall? Had the poachers been on our land or could Toothless have managed to fly some distance before crashing in the cove?

I wondered if I should talk with Dad about some of this. Not about being friends with Toothless, of course, but he would want to know if poachers had been here. But I already knew he wouldn't approve of my friendship with a dragon so I certainly couldn't have him traipsing around near the cove, or hiring security guards to patrol the area.

I debated whether or not to tell Dad while I showered and dressed for dinner. We have these family dinners with the Jorgensons once or twice a month, though Dad, Aunt Hildegard, and Uncle Spite see each other more often. We always dress up for them, for some reason, so I put on a white button-down shirt, a blue and red print silk tie, my navy sport coat, khaki trousers, tan socks, and brown leather loafers. Then I dragged a brush through my hair and checked the time.

I still had a few minutes before I needed to go downstairs so I sat down with my laptop and looked for information about tranquilizer darts. I was relieved to read that they usually took a little while to take effect, sometimes up to half an hour. If that were the case, then those poachers would have been a long way off from our property when they shot Toothless. So there was no reason to bother Dad with any of it.

I heard Mr. Holt open the front doors and Dad welcoming my aunt, uncle, and cousin, so I hurried downstairs before he could get mad at me for being late. Everyone was gathered in the entrance hall and Aunt Hildegard hugged me as soon as I came down.

"Hiccup! I don't think I've seen you since the company picnic in May. How are you, love?"

Aunt Hildegard is Dad's younger sister and definitely my favorite Jorgenson. Unfortunately, she's also the one I see the least of because she travels for work a lot. Like Dad, she is tall with red hair (hers is long though) and she has green eyes. She was a fantastic football player when she was young. She even played as a pro for a few years before Sly was born.

Now she's President of Sales for the Vastley-Jorgenson fishing fleet and she travels all around the Archipelago and to other countries as well.

"Hi, Aunt Hilley. I'm fine. It's good to see you again." I hugged her back and then shook hands with Uncle Spite.

He's been friends with Dad since they were kids. Dad, Spite, and Gobber all grew up together and the Jorgensons and Vastleys have been business partners for almost a hundred and fifty years, ever since our great-great-great grandfathers bought all the fishing boats in the Archipelago. Dad owns shares in the company, but he's never really been involved with it. He invested his money in lots of different things and decided to concentrate on politics. So Aunt Hilley and Uncle Spite are the ones who actually run the business.

Uncle Spite is not as tall as Dad, though he's not short. He and Aunt Hilley are about the same height, but he is stocky-"Built like a bulldozer" as Dad always says—with brown hair and blue eyes.

Sly looks just like him, except for being twenty-five years younger and maybe six inches shorter. Sly is still taller than me though and about twice as wide. We did not shake hands.

After a few minutes of greeting each other, we went to the dining room with its blue-gray walls, white marble fireplace and mantel, and the long polished oak table covered with a white lace tablecloth.

The Holts brought in a clear soup to begin, followed by yellowfin tuna, roast beef, potatoes au gratin, and creamed spinach. We said grace and then the adults chatted desultorily about local news, the fishing business, and current events. Sly and I were quiet for the most part. We didn't have anything to say to one another, but that was fine with me. It could have been worse.

Then Uncle Spite said proudly, "Tell your uncle the news, Sly."

"I made the varsity hockey team," Sly announced. "Coach Lybeck called me today."

"First freshman to make varsity since you did it, Stoick," Uncle Spite pointed out.

Dad beamed at him. "Congratulations, Sly! That's wonderful news; I couldn't be any prouder of you. Still playing right wing?"

Sly nodded. "Yes, sir. Just like Dad did."

"I always played center." Maybe I imagined it, but it seemed to me that Dad shot me a glance filled with disappointment as he spoke. But almost at once he had turned back to Uncle Spite. "Remember that last game against Balder Bay? Those were the days, hmm, Spite?"

Uncle Spite laughed. "That they were."

They talked about hockey for a while longer until there was a lull and Aunt Hilley turned to me.

"So what have you been up to lately, Hiccup?"

For a minute I wondered what they would say if I told them I'd been making friends with a Night Fury. "Oh, nothing much."

But she persisted. "You're almost through with school, aren't you?"

I nodded. "Yes, I just need one more class in Literature and I'll have enough credits to graduate."

"And you're only fourteen. That's amazing. You're finishing up high school and Sly's just starting." Aunt Hilley smiled at me.

"Yea, Hiccup's a genius. Can't risk banging your head up playing hockey, can you?" The words could have been innocent enough, but I could hear an ugly undertone in Sly's voice. I wondered if anyone else noticed it.

"He ought to get some exercise," Dad grumbled. He frowned at me. "Sitting at that computer all the time isn't good for you."

I thought that was really unfair of him, considering that I had been outside almost the whole day. But before I could say anything, Sly spoke up again.

"Maybe you could practice with Tuff and me sometimes. It'd be fun." He grinned mockingly at me.

_Oh yes, a good time would be had by all, wouldn't it?_ They'd probably use me as the puck.

I was terrified that Dad would decide I ought to spend the afternoons 'practicing' hockey with Sly but thankfully, maybe even he realized that I would be risking life and limb. Instead he asked Sly about the summer practice schedule.

Fortunately for me, everyone else got so carried away about Sly being Berk's future hockey star that they spent the rest of the evening talking about it, so I didn't have to spend any time alone with him after all.

Instead I sat quietly and counted the hours until I could sneak back to the cove to hang out with Toothless.

Author's Notes: I researched a little to find out where the Barbaric Archipelago is, and it seems to be near northern Norway, so I decided to use Norwegian currency for money, which is why Hiccup spoke about betting one hundred kroner.

I have not read the HTTYD books but I do know that Hiccup and Snotlout are cousins in them. This is not contradicted in the movies either, as far as I know. Many fanfics I have read have them be related through Valka—with Valka being born to the Jorgenson family. But that wouldn't work in "The Outcast and The Night Fury" as Valka is not from Berk in my story.

So to explain Hiccup and Sly (Snotlout) being cousins and having different surnames, I decided to introduce an original character—Stoick's sister Hildegard, who is also known by the nickname Hilley. She is perhaps the most sympathetic to Hiccup, but I made a point of having her travel often so that she would not be around enough to be a mother figure. It's sad for Hiccup, but I think it's important thematically for him to feel alone at this point. If he's not desperately lonely, he might not be so determined to befriend Toothless.

I mentioned that Hilley played football. As Berk is part of Europe, football refers to soccer here.

Finally, thanks so much for reading and especially to those who review! If you enjoy reading the story, please do take a minute to review! I really appreciate it!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

I almost missed breakfast the next morning because I overslept. Well, I did wake up early when my alarm went off, but I dreaded facing the day so much I decided to put it off for a little bit longer and hit the snooze button. Except that, in my dazed fumbling, I accidently switched the alarm off altogether so instead of a five minute reprieve, I fell back asleep for an extra half hour.

I'm not sure what woke me up, but luckily I opened my eyes and checked my phone just in the nick of time.

"Darn!" A rush of adrenaline jolted me fully awake. I leaped out of bed and ran to change from pajamas to a long-sleeved royal blue polo shirt, jeans, and black sneakers.

A short time later I hurried down the stairs and slid into my chair in the dining room. Dad was already there, wearing a suit and tie, which meant that he was planning to go to his office at the City Hall after breakfast. Luckily, he didn't notice that I was running late because he was on the phone. He doesn't like taking calls during meals but as mayor, sometimes he has to.

But as I listened, I quickly realized that he wasn't talking to anyone from his City Hall office, but to Gobber.

"This isn't a good time for me to leave, Gobber. I've got a meeting next week about the zoning five proposition and—" Dad broke off for a moment, then asked. "Well, what about Dullnut Thorston? He's licensed to operate the ferry, isn't he?"

Dad was silent for a while longer as Gobber spoke. Finally he sighed. "I suppose I could come for a few days, but I'll have to be back by Friday. All right, I've got to get some work done here this morning, but I'll come out this afternoon."

I motioned to him to let me speak, but Dad wasn't paying attention. He never does, unless of course, it's one of the times when I _don't_ want him to notice me, and then he's breathing right down my neck. One of Murphy's Laws, I suppose.

"I wanted to speak to Gobber," I said as Dad switched his phone off and laid it beside his plate.

"It's not a good time, Hiccup. He's very busy," Dad spoke shortly, but then he looked at me and seemed to relent a little. His tone was a slightly less brusque as he said, "We'll have him over for dinner as soon as he comes back from Dragon Island."

I mentioned that our family has invested money in lots of different things. Well, Dragon Island is one of those things, along with finance, technology, and pharmaceuticals.

Dragon Island is the westernmost island in the Archipelago. My Vastley grandparents bought it when Dad was just a kid and built a luxurious sporting lodge there. It's closed during the winter, but from April through October, it does a thriving business. Corporations hold retreats there. Wealthy tourists come to hunt, fish, hike, and take boat tours around the Archipelago. There's even the occasional wedding. Mom and Dad were married at the little church on Berk, but they spent part of their honeymoon on Dragon Island.

Normally the Dragon Island Lodge runs itself pretty well. There is a concierge, sporting guides, and a ferry boat captain who manage everything. They and the housekeeping staff live in little cottages on Dragon Island during the months that the Lodge is open and return to their home islands for the winter. Other than the visitors and staff, Dragon Island is un-inhabited.

Despite its name, even the wild dragons stay away, which seems odd. It's the only island in the whole Archipelago where they have never been seen. The island gets its name from a large mountain—really an extinct volcano-on its northern side. There's a sharp craig near the top that juts out and looks a little like a Monstrous Nightmare's head.

Interestingly enough, it was once a huge dragon nest. The volcano's interior is rimmed with ledges and caves where all types of dragons used to live. They've found some fossilized remains and old dragon scales and teeth and claws there. I've seen it because once when Dad and I were staying at the Lodge, we went along with a tour that hiked to the rim and let people look down inside.

"Why is Gobber on Dragon Island?" I asked.

I'm not sure what Gobber's official title is, but he is Dad's right hand man and oversees all of our financial investments and projects. But he rarely goes to Dragon Island. When he travels, it's to Oslo, London, and New York City.

Dad was checking something on his phone as he ate a piece of toast. "Hmm? Oh, the Lodge is full and apparently the new ferry boat captain can't work a week without taking time off. I asked Gobber to cover the boat tours while the concierge is looking for a replacement."

He set down his toast and gave me his full attention for a change. "It looks like I'm needed there too, for a few days. Now the concierge is sick and Gobber can't do it all. He needs someone else who can pilot the ferry for the tourists."

"Why does it have to be you?"

"Hiccup, you know it's the busiest time of year for the fishermen. I can't send anyone from Vastley-Jorgenson. And a lot of people here have boats, but apparently not many are licensed to operate a commercial ferry," Dad explained.

"You're going this afternoon?"

"Well, you heard me," Dad replied. "I'll go over in the Dragonfly as soon as I can get away from the office."

The Dragonfly is our speedboat. Or maybe it's more like a smaller yacht. It's a medium-sized boat, sleek and silver, with an inside lounge and several cabins. Mom and Dad bought it right after they married. Mom named it, in case you hadn't guessed.

"Are you going through Helheim's Gate?" I couldn't help sounding anxious, though I knew Dad would think I was being silly. Helheim's Gate is a very tricky area of the sea to navigate, with lots of sea stacks close together and strong winds and currents. You can go around it to get to Dragon Island, but that is out of the way and adds a couple hours to the journey.

"I've sailed through the Gate many times, Hiccup. You're over-reacting." Sure enough, Dad sounded annoyed.

But then he studied me and spoke more quietly, "Are you really worried?"

I nodded. Dad and I may not be close, but he's still my dad and I love him.

"All right. I'll take the long route." Dad still sounded a little annoyed at my cowardly paranoia, but at least he wouldn't be going through Helheim's Gate.

He pushed his plate back and stood up.

"Will you call me when you get there?" I had to ask.

"Hiccup, you're being ridiculous." Dad turned to leave, then glanced back at me. "I'll call you this evening and I'll be back by noon on Friday. Now, be good and don't get into any trouble."

At the door, he added crossly, "And hurry up. You're going to be late for the Center."

Ugh. Somehow I had almost forgotten. My porridge and fruit didn't seem nearly as appetizing anymore. I took a slice of buttered toast with me and nibbled at it half-heartedly as I got my red and black bicycle from the old carriage house set a short ways from the manor.

I was also mad at myself because I had planned to be at the Center early. Then maybe Phlegma or Sven could have assigned some task to me and I could have already been hidden away working by the time the other kids showed up. But thanks to my oversleeping, that idea was ruined.

Well, if I couldn't be early, maybe I should be late and let the other kids be busy doing something by the time I arrived. So I took my time cruising along the narrow road that led to the Wildlife Center. Rugged green fields lay on either side of the road, with the occasional hedgerow separating them. The gray ocean, tipped with whitecaps, lay beyond the fields to my right while dark fir trees stood in the distance towards my left.

It was picturesque, in a lonely, bleak sort of way, and as I was approaching the turn-off for the Center, a golden eagle took wing from the firs and soared across the pale sky. It was so breath-taking that I had to stop and watch for a minute as it glided towards the sea. It rose higher and higher until it was just a dot, and then rocketed back towards the earth. I lost sight of it as it dove back into the trees. After a moment I moved on, but the image of the dark bird soaring with such speed and precision stayed with me, and once again, I wondered what would happen when Toothless could fly.

Of course he would want to. Even ground-bound as I was, I could feel the pull of that magical freedom. But I hoped against hope that he would decide to live in the cove where I could still visit him every day.

Reluctantly I turned down the drive towards the Center with its low stone buildings and walled enclosures.

I was almost ten minutes late, but unfortunately, Sven and Phlegma were running even later. Even more unfortunately, all the other kids were there, hanging out in the small parking lot, and they were bored and ready for something to do.

There was Sly, of course, and his two favorite sidekicks, Ruffnut and Tuffnut Thorston. They're real names are Rica and Tyr, but they've been called Ruffnut and Tuffnut since infancy. It's appropriate. Their mother always jokes that they were born hitting each other and I believe it. The only thing they like better than fighting with each other is fighting with someone else. Even though they are a boy and a girl, they look very much alike. They both have shaggy, shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes and they're about the same height. They're actually not much taller than me, and they're skinny too, but unlike me, they're athletic-skinny, not just scrawny.

Fishlegs Ingerman was there too. He's a tall, heavyset kid, also blond, and probably the closest thing to a friend that I have among the group. Which simply means that he doesn't join Sly and the twins when they bully me, and on the very rare occasions when he and I have been together without the other kids around, he will strike up a conversation with me. He's pretty smart and kind of funny too. But he's not about to risk his place in the group by sticking up for me. I learned that a long time ago.

And then there's Astrid Hofferson, the most beautiful girl in the world. At least, I think so. But she really is very pretty. She has long, thick blonde hair which she often wears in a braid down her back. (Yes, there are a lot of fair-haired people on Berk. Those Viking genes must be pretty dominant. But what else would you expect from Vikings, right?)

Astrid has beautiful blue eyes and she's my height exactly. She's very slender, but like the twins, she's fit and toned. She plays football like Aunt Hilley, and studies tae kwon do, too. She's smart and likes to read. At least, I think she does. Whenever I see her, I've noticed that she always has a book with her. Not just silly teen romances either, but serious books like 'Far From The Madding Crowd' by Thomas Hardy and a book of poetry by Tennyson.

Sly likes her too. About a year ago, when I had to spend a day over at his house, he took off with the twins and left me sitting alone in his room all afternoon (which was actually fine by me). But he either forgot or didn't care that there were several sheets of paper on his desk where he was writing love poems to Astrid. And no, I did not snoop through his desk. They really were just lying there. Also, no, I have never mentioned them to Sly. That would be more than my life is worth.

But when I need a laugh, I do remember those lines about Astrid's-

"Hair so yellow, Blowing in the wind, so mellow."

Even if I hadn't seen the poetry, I would know about Sly's crush because he flirts so often-and so badly-with her. I figured that was that, because Sly is exactly the kind of Big Man On Campus (around here I guess it would be more like the Big Man In The Village) that many girls seem to like. Plus, Sly always gets whatever he wants, but surprisingly, from what I can tell, Astrid doesn't seem interested in Sly that way. She seems to ignore the flirting and once when Sly tried to hold her hand, she shut that down right away.

I know better than to hope for anything though. She's gorgeous and I'm just a scrawny kid who looks several years younger than I am. What girl in her right mind would like me when Sly is around?

Astrid pretty much ignores me, anyway. But I guess that's better than her mocking me.

Anyway, they were all there, Berk's rising freshman class, wearing hoodies or long-sleeved T-shirts and jeans, when I coasted into the parking lot and came to a stop.

Sly, the twins, and I eyed one another while Fishlegs looked uncomfortable and Astrid just looked bored.

I wished Toothless was there to back me up.

"Why are you here?" Ruffnut demanded after a moment.

"Your dad finally decide to donate you to the Wildlife Center?" Tuffnut spoke at the same time.

Honestly, that just sounded dumb to me, but Sly and the twins laughed uproariously.

"Hilarious," I remarked dryly. I shrugged. "I'm volunteering like you guys."

I went to park my bike near the wall by the dragon pen. Sly followed me. "Better be careful around here, Useless. You might end up as dragon food."

He gave me a shove and I stumbled against the wall, which is about three feet high. Then somehow, I fell over it and into the sunken dragon enclosure below. I had a glimpse of Sly's horrified face as he realized that I was falling. He lounged to grab me, but it was too late. The next thing I knew I was lying on my back on the ground, struggling to breathe, while dark spots danced before my eyes.

I was vaguely aware of panicked shouts and I think someone was calling my name, but all I could concentrate on was fighting to draw breath into my lungs. For a minute I wondered if I were dying, but then slowly, breathing became easier and the dark spots began to clear.

Except that then I realized I was looking up at a circle of curious dragon faces. The dragons hadn't been in sight when I had arrived at the Center, but apparently they had been close enough to hear me fall and had come running. So now I was surrounded by four large dragons, the Nadder, the Gronckle, the Nightmare, and the two-headed Zippleback.

_If you're going to kill me, please do it quickly._

But as soon as the thought crossed my mind, I realized that they weren't threatening me. Four pairs of big yellow eyes watched me curiously, even sympathetically. Even the Nightmare didn't look hostile, though perhaps a little wary.

I suddenly wanted to speak with them, reassure them that I was all right, thank them for the concern that I could see in their expressions. But although my breathing had eased a little, I didn't think I could speak yet.

Then I heard other voices among the kids' quick frightened tones—Sven and Phlegma had finally arrived. There was a sharp exclamation and a moment later Phlegma and the kids were leaning over the wall, pouring buckets of fish and rocks into the enclosure, while Sven hurried to let himself inside the entrance, and slowly approached.

"Hiccup, don't move. Just lie still." His voice was quiet but commanding. "Hoi there, you beasts, go on and get your breakfast."

But the dragons didn't move. They stayed close around me, almost as if they were protecting me.

"Could you tranquilize them?" Fishlegs actually sounded a little worried.

"No," Phlegma answered quietly. "It would take a while to be effective, and it would agitate them in the meantime."

"It's all right," I managed to rasp. I sat up very slowly, not wanting to spook the dragons and because I wasn't sure if I had gotten hurt in my fall. But it seemed that I hadn't broken any bones or seriously injured myself, though I was a little sore. I guessed I'd have my share of scrapes and bruises.

I looked around at the dragons and spoke softly to them. "Thanks, guys. But you can go on. I'm all right."

One by one, the dragons stepped even closer and sniffed at me. I could feel their warm breath and if I had raised my hand just a few inches, I could have touched them. But I was frozen—with fear, with awe? I wasn't completely sure.

Then they moved away towards their food and Sven hurried to my side. "Are you all right? Can you walk?"

I could, and we moved cautiously to the entrance door, which led to the downstairs of one of the stone buildings. Phlegma came hurrying in from the parking lot, with the other teens behind her. They stood awkwardly by the stairs while Phlegma and Sven quickly examined me—taking my pulse, checking my eyes to see if my pupils were dilated—that kind of thing.

When they were satisfied that I wasn't dying, Sven ran a hand through his dark hair and exclaimed roughly, "What in the _hell_ happened?"

There was an uneasy silence until I finally said quietly, "I fell."

Sven shook his head. "How? What the hell were you doing-?"

But Phlegma looked from me to the other kids and I think she suspected that there was more to the story.

She interrupted Sven. "All right. That's enough, Sven. I'm sure they'll all be more careful. Why don't you give the other kids here a quick tour and assign them their tasks? Hiccup, do you think you need to see Dr. Gothburg?"

"No," I said firmly. "I'm fine now. Just had the breath knocked out of me for a minute."

Phlegma considered for a moment before agreeing. "Well, you let me or Sven know if you start to feel bad. I want you to take things easy this morning. Why don't you organize the brochures and work in the gift shop?"

Organizing the brochures took about ten minutes, tops, and then I spent the rest of the morning sitting at the cash register in the gift shop, which was both ridiculously easy and boring since no one came in there at all.

Astrid was assigned to act as the receptionist at the front desk on the other side room—another rather pointless job as there were absolutely no guests or phone calls, but I suppose someone needed to be there just in case.

She glanced my way a couple times and once I thought she might say something, but she never did and after this morning's spectacle, I was much too embarrassed to even look at her so we both sat in silence for two hours.

That wasn't awkward at all.

Phlegma worked with Fishlegs, showing him to wrap bandages and splints while the twins went with Sven as he fed and checked all the outside animals. Sly was assigned to cleaning cages. I have to admit that I felt a certain smug satisfaction over that.

Finally it was noon and we were free to leave. Once we were outside, Ruffnut and Tuffnut immediately yelled, "Yeah, freedom!" and began punching each other in the shoulder, until Tuffnut hit Ruffnut harder than normal and she got angry and chased him down the lane.

"I'm starving," Fishlegs moaned.

"We could go to Agnar's for lunch," Astrid suggested.

Agnar's Café is in downtown Berk and has the best fish and chips in the whole Archipelago.

"Yes, Agnar's!" Fishlegs exclaimed happily. He and Astrid followed after the twins, still chatting about lunch and their afternoon plans.

Sly hestitated and then spoke to me. "Um, Hiccup, you want to come with us?"

For just a second, my heart leaped. Maybe working with the other kids here wouldn't be so bad. We were older, maybe if we got to know each other…

But then he continued, "And about, you know, this morning…there's no reason to say anything to Uncle Stoick, right?"

Oh.

So that's what this unexpected invitation was about. I was suddenly so angry I wanted to punch him in the nose, but instead I just glared and said coldly, "If Dad hears about it, it'll be from them."

I jerked my thumb back at the building where Sven and Phlegma were inside. "You don't have to buy my silence. I'm not a snitch like you."

I jumped on my bike and rode off in the opposite direction. Who needed them anyway? I had Toothless, after all, and he was a million times better than any of them!

So the tears that blurred my vision and slipped down my cheeks were just from the sharp breeze that blew.

Definitely.

Author's Notes: The Dragon Island mentioned here is the same Dragon Island where the Red Death's nest once was, but in modern times it is a much more beautiful place. Camusericht Lodge in Perthshire, Scotland is the inspiration for the Dragon Island Lodge.

In reality, I doubt that a very wealthy owner like Stoick (or Gobber who is also very high in the hierarchy) would be working at the Lodge themselves, but it matches the first film where Stoick took off looking for the dragon's nest, plus Stoick is an outdoorsy, hands-on type so he would probably enjoy running the ferry boat and helping at the Lodge. Gobber didn't have to twist his arm too hard.

For Ruffnut and Tuffnut's 'real' names, I searched for Scandinavian names—a girl's name that began with an R and a boy's name that began with a T. I ended up liking Rica and Tyr for them. But I don't know that it really matters, since they'll always be called by their nicknames.

Finally, Phlegma and Sven are not responsible adults here. They should have insisted that Hiccup see a doctor, whether he wanted to or not.

In real life, anyone who has a serious fall needs to get medical attention right away. They could have a head or an internal injury that might not be obvious at first, but could still be life-threatening.

To all my readers, thank you so much! Please review!


	6. Chapter 6

The Outcast and The Night Fury

AN: I just wanted to let you all know that I accidently updated this chapter under "Stepping Forward" at first, and that is why you may have received a note that SF had a new chapter. I'm sorry, but this one is it for now. I plan to work on SF again this weekend, so hopefully that story will be updated next week.

Thank you all!

CHSHiccstrid: Thanks again so much! I'm glad you're enjoying 'Outcast' even if we're not seeing eye to eye on everything.

Chapter 6

I went home first to pack a lunch for Toothless and me. Just as I slipped Toothless' antibiotic pills into one of the fish, Mrs. Holt came into the kitchen from the butler's pantry.

"Oh, Hiccup, how was your morning at the Center?"

I shrugged. "All right, I guess."

She glanced at me with keen silvery-gray eyes. The Holts have been with our family all my life. They know how Sly can be and they're usually sympathetic. But I didn't want to talk about falling into the pen or about the morning at all, really. Like I told Sly, I'm not a snitch and it was embarrassing anyway. At least I had managed not to get my clothes dirty or torn when I fell and although I suspected I would have some bruises and scrapes, my face was unmarked so Mrs. Holt wouldn't be able to tell that something had happened just from looking at me.

"It seems like a lot of fish have been disappearing from the freezer lately." Mrs. Holt gave me another pointed look.

I tried to look as innocent as I could, which admittedly wasn't very innocent considering that I had a raw fish in my hands and several more in the backpack sitting on the floor beside me.

"What are you feeding? A seal? A dolphin? Some kind of bird?"

"Why do you think I'm feeding an animal?" I tried to stall.

Mrs. Holt rolled her eyes. "Well, I doubt that you've suddenly developed a taste for raw haddock."

"Please, Mrs. Holt, it's just for a little while. He's hurt and I'm just bringing him some food until he's healed. I'm being very careful. I promise." I pleaded.

She sighed. "Why don't you let those people at the Wildlife Center take care of it? That's their job, isn't it?"

"They do know about him. I'm helping them out, that's all," I told her.

Mrs. Holt still didn't seem happy, but after a moment she only said, "Please be careful."

"I will. I am." I thrust the fish into my backpack, grabbed it, and hurried through the mud room to the outside door.

"But what kind of animal is it?" Mrs. Holt called after me, but I was already outside and I pretended not to hear. Hopefully she would have forgotten by the time I came home in the evening. If not, well, I would have to lie even though I didn't want to. But there was no way any of them would let me near the cove again if they knew I had befriended a dragon.

Yet Toothless was the only good thing in my life and I couldn't give him up. I had never before deliberately disobeyed Dad, or Mr. or Mrs. Holt. At least I didn't remember doing so.

But I would for Toothless.

"Hey, bud, I'm here," I called to him as I entered the cove. I already felt so much happier. Whatever else was wrong in my life, _this _was right. Here in the cove, with Toothless, I could relax and be myself, and he liked me just the way I was.

Except that Toothless wasn't there.

At first I thought that he might be napping behind a boulder so I started looking for him, but I made my way around the cove without spotting him anywhere. There was a terrible sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach as I realized that Toothless simply was not there.

I had worried that he might leave once he was well, but I had hoped he would stay. I swallowed hard against the painful lump that lodged in my throat and whispered, "What am I going to do now?"

I didn't expect an answer, but there was a sudden cry.

"Icka! Icka!"

I spun around to see Toothless, wings outspread, landing lightly a few yards behind me.

"Icka, fi!"

I ran and threw my arms around his neck. "Toothless! I'm so glad you're here. I thought you had left me."

Toothless actually folded his wings around me, like a hug, and nuzzled my face. My knees went weak with relief that he was still here and I clung to him for several long minutes.

When we finally stepped apart, I caught my breath in sudden realization. "You were flying! But your shoulder-. I didn't think you were well enough."

Quickly I examined the wound on Toothless' left shoulder, but it did look fine. Better than fine actually. He was healing amazingly fast, much faster than I thought a human would from a similar injury. Sven and Phlegma had told me that they had used dissolvable stitches. Yesterday I had noticed that a few were gone and today it seemed that about half of the stitches had dissolved, leaving a thin pink scar in their wake. I traced it with gentle fingers.

"Well, it looks good, bud. I can't believe how quickly you've healed. And you can fly again. I think I'm jealous. Flying would be so awesome."

The image of the golden eagle from this morning flashed through my mind and I sighed wistfully. "You must feel so free."

Toothless gave me a considering look. "Icka fi."

I scratched under his chin. "Yea, you dragons are pretty lucky, aren't you? And birds, too. I wish I had wings. Some days I think I would fly away from here and keep going forever."

Toothless just looked at me, a little impatiently now, it seemed to me. Abruptly he sank down to the ground and used his wing and nose to try to push me onto his back

"Whoa, Toothless, what are you doing?"

He kept prodding at me and finally I got it. "What? You want to give me a ride? Is your shoulder well enough? I don't want to hurt you."

Toothless shoved me harder.

I laughed. "All right. If you're sure."

I managed to clamber onto Toothless' back-his shoulders really-between his neck and wings, and sat up straight. "Okay, bud, I've ridden a horse before without falling off, but you don't have a saddle or bridle so let's stick to a walk, all right?"

But instead of walking sedately around the cove as I expected, Toothless tensed, and before I knew it, he raised his wings and then beat them down strongly. We shot straight up into the air.

"Arrgghh!"

Frantically, I grabbed at Toothless' neck but his sudden lunge had caught me off guard and I tumbled off of his back and plummeted towards the ground.

_I'm going to die! _It was a wordless realization though, more than an actual thought, because I didn't have time to think in words. I didn't even have time to be scared because as soon as I realized that I was falling, I felt a sharp hit and then I was zooming sideways as well as down. Then I fell into the icy-cold water of the pond.

I was struggling to swim towards the shore when Toothless swooped overhead, grabbed me in his front paws, and set me down on the ground. He landed beside me and began nuzzling me again, crooning apologetically.

My teeth were chattering so hard I could barely speak but I tried to reassure him. "I-, I-, It's all-, right. I-, I'm okay."

Toothless hurried around the cove, snapping branches off trees and laying them in a pile near me. When he had quite a high stack, he blew a small fireball at it and set it ablaze.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," I said and then grinned. "Or should I say pretty warm? But this is nice. Thanks, bud."

Toothless laid down near the fire and I sat down and leaned against him. Now that things were quiet and I had survived my second fall of the day, I was feeling a little overwhelmed.

"What happened, Toothless?" I whispered. "I was falling and then something hit me…"

Toothless waved his tail at me, looking a little guilty.

"You hit me with your tail?" I asked but I already knew. I put my arm around him again. "It's all right. You saved my life. If you hadn't knocked me into the pond, I would have died."

Toothless lowered his head in shame.

"What's wrong?" I asked him. "Don't feel bad about letting me fly. I wanted to. I _do_ want to, but I guess it's too dangerous."

"Unless—," I caught my breath.

Toothless watched me curiously, but I didn't speak for a long moment. My mind was racing. Obviously flying could be dangerous, if I only held on to Toothless' neck. But what if I had some kind of saddle or harness? Like with a horse?

"That's it!" I turned to Toothless in excitement. "I need a saddle or a harness so I won't fall. Would you be all right with that?"

Toothless nodded.

"Great!" But then my smile faded. "But where am I going to find those?"

And then, as if it were meant to be, I knew.

"The old carriage house," I breathed.

Toothless made a questioning sound and I explained. "It's a building on our estate where my great-grandparents kept the tack and carriages for their horses. You know how people used to ride horses or in carriages before there were cars."

I don't know if Toothless understood that or not, but he didn't question it.

"It's been cleaned out, mostly, but there are a couple of old trunks that didn't get moved for some reason. I looked in them once and there were some leather harnesses inside. Surely I could find something that would work."

I was so excited that I almost wanted to run home and search through those trunks right then. But I didn't want to give up my afternoon with Toothless, not even to work on a flying harness. There would be time enough for that this evening, after all. With Dad gone, I could sit up all night patching something together if I wanted.

"This is going to be amazing, Toothless. Thank you so much."

Toothless rumbled back and I settled against him to wait for my clothes to dry. But before long my wet shirt sticking to my chest started to bother me and I decided to take it off. The bonfire was warm, and so was Toothless, for that matter. So I pulled the royal blue polo shirt over my head and laid it in the grass beside me.

Toothless crooned sadly again and I turned to him, only to find him watching me with a pained expression.

I glanced down at the bruises and cuts on my chest and grimaced. "You didn't do this. I think this happened when I fell into the dragon pen this morning."

Toothless raised his head and gazed at me intensely.

"Well, you know I told you about working at the Wildlife Center with my cousin and the other kids?" I told him all about my morning, the fall into the dragon pen, and how the other dragons had seemed friendly and concerned.

Toothless, however, was furious. I had never seen him really angry and I have to admit, it was scary. I certainly wouldn't want to get on his bad side. He jumped to his feet, growling ferociously with bared teeth and narrowed eyes. It was a good thing that Sly wasn't around or I think my dragon might have had my cousin for lunch.

"Hey, bud, calm down. It's all right," I tried to soothe him. "I'm fine, really. And Sly didn't mean for me to fall. He's awful, but he's not that awful. Not quite."

But that didn't seem to cheer Toothless up. He was still stomping around, looking like he was ready to do battle with the whole village of Berk. Watching him, I felt a warm glow inside. No one else had ever cared or wanted to protect me.

I went to him and wrapped my arms around his neck again. "Thanks, Toothless. But it's okay. Calm down. I don't want you to go after Sly. It would only cause a lot of trouble, and I can't risk losing you."

Toothless growled and grumbled some more but finally he relaxed a little and began licking my face and hair. I had to laugh because it tickled. "Okay, okay. Hey, you know what? We never had lunch. Want to eat?"

I went to get our food from my backpack and Toothless and I settled down close to the fire again. I ate my sandwich and he gulped down his fish, except when he came to the one with the medicine inside. Always before Toothless had eaten that one just like the others, but this time, he sniffed it, made a face, and then held it upside-down in his front paws. He shook it until the pills fell out before popping the fish into his mouth.

"Hey, buddy, you need your medicine," I said. But Toothless shook his head at me and with his right front paw, he flicked the pills into the fire.

"Well, you do seem almost well," I admitted. "I guess I could ask Sven and Phlegma tomorrow if you still need them."

I looked at him. "So you knew all along that there was medicine in one of the fish?"

Toothless gave me a smug look.

I shook my head. "You guys really are super smart, aren't you?"

Toothless nodded and grinned gummily at me. I grinned back and leaned against him. As I watched the flames dancing before me, I wondered about the other dragons at the Center. Were they as smart as Toothless? They had seemed to understand me this morning when I had told them I was all right and that they didn't need to stand guard over me. And they had been kind and concerned. They hadn't seemed dangerous at all.

It was funny, and kind of sad, how dragons—even dragons I scarcely knew—seemed to care more about me than the humans I lived with.

My clothes were dry by the time I started for home. Before I put my shirt on, Toothless stepped close and began licking the bruises and scrapes on my chest.

"Toothless—," I started to move away when a memory clicked in my brain. Dragon saliva had healing properties. "Oh. Thanks, bud!"

I wanted to stay longer, but it was nearly time for dinner; Dad would be calling from Dragon Island soon; and I wanted to check the trunks in the old carriage house. So I reluctantly said good-bye to Toothless and left the cove.

Dad called just as I entered the mud room and I spoke to him for a minute. He didn't say much, just that he had arrived safely, that he would be home Friday, and he reminded me again to be good and not cause any trouble. I was glad to know that he was safe of course, but honestly, you would think I was a juvenile delinquent to hear Dad talk. I know I make mistakes and mess things up a lot because I get nervous around him, but I do try to please him and do what he wants (most of the time, at least). Sometimes I wonder what would happen if I didn't, if I really did start being bad, but then Dad really would hate me and I wouldn't have anyone.

Except Toothless. I had him now. Just knowing that made me feel so much better.

I ate a quick dinner of beef stew in the kitchen with the Holts—Mrs. Holt does not bother cooking a five-course meal when it's just me. Afterwards we cleaned up and they retired to their rooms on the top floor while I went back outside.

The carriage house is close to the main manor, just off to the right side, but it's hidden behind a line of tall oak trees. I followed the white pebbled path that led to it and to the old stables beyond. The carriage house is a decent-sized building in its own right. It's a two-storied stone house with a steeply gabled roof, a row of arched windows on the top floor, and a corner tower on the left side that serves no purpose other than to be decorative as far as I can tell. Back in the day, my Vastley ancestors kept several horse-drawn carriages inside on the ground floor and the coachman lived in the rooms above with his family.

But that was all a long time ago. The carriage house is used for storage these days. I entered through the wide door and flipped the light switch on. Four dark wooden trunks sat by the far wall, a veneer of dust across their tops. I knelt in front of the first one, opened the lid, and peered inside. There was a tangle of leather straps and brass buckles, covered with cobwebs and grime. I carefully lifted it out and spread it out on the faded brick floor, working through the knots until I could tell it had once been a horse's harness.

But looking at it stretched out before me, I had to sigh. The leather was old and cracked from disuse and lack of care. Obviously, it would not be safe to use as it was and I didn't know if it could be repaired. So I wouldn't be flying with Toothless just yet.

But I was going to fly.

It was funny. The idea had never even occurred to me until a few short hours ago, but sitting there in the quiet carriage house while evening fell outside, I felt that resolution deep in my heart. Somehow, some way, I would figure out how to make it work, and then Toothless and I would soar to the clouds together.

And I would be free.

Author's Notes: Thank you for reading! Please review!


	7. Chapter 7

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Seven

I searched through the other trunks and found harnesses that seemed to be in better condition than the first one I had found. I was tempted to take the best one with me tomorrow and try flying again, but I decided that, for safety's sake, I really should restore it before letting Toothless take me up into the sky again.

So I locked up the carriage house and went back to the manor to my room, taking the harnesses with me. Then I got on my laptop and read everything I could find about how to restore leather. It was nearly midnight before I finally went to bed.

I was not looking forward to going back to the Wildlife Center the next morning, but it actually wasn't as bad as I feared. Sven and Phlegma were there when we all arrived and the other kids and I just ignored each other for the little bit of time that we were together, which wasn't much because I ended up going along with Sven while he made field calls around the island.

Sven and Phlegma are the only veterinarians on Berk so they stay pretty busy caring for pets, livestock, and the wild animals at the Center. We went to Bucket's farm first to check out a cow that had gone off her feed, then to another farm so Sven could do some kind of dental work on a sheep, and then to their office in downtown Berk because Mulch Olsen's cat needed a vaccine.

Sven and Phlegma's office happened to be right across the street from the hardware store. Since there wasn't much I could do to help with giving the cat its shot, it occurred to me that maybe I could run over and pick up a leather restoration kit instead of having to wait until afternoon. I needed to buy the kit so I could start working on the harnesses that evening, but I also hated to miss any of my time with Toothless.

"Sven, would it be all right if I ran over to the hardware store a minute?" I asked while he was getting the vaccine.

He waved me on. "Sure, go ahead."

So I hurried across the street and asked the owners, a Mr. and Mrs. Tindall, for the kit. Normally I'm a little shy about asking people for things. I always feel like I'm bothering them. But I didn't want to waste any time and hold Sven up, and the shelves in the hardware store were crammed full with nuts and bolts and tools of every type, and everything seemed to be in such a jumble that I probably could have searched for an hour without finding what I needed. But Mrs. Tindall went straight to a shelf on the far wall and got a kit.

"I think maybe I'll get two of those, Mrs. Tindall," I decided. If I was going to try to restore one harness, I might as well work on all of them. You never knew when having extras might come in handy, after all.

The kits weren't cheap, but I had plenty of money. Dad is actually pretty generous about giving me pocket money, and I rarely spend much so I have a lot saved up.

I was waiting at the street corner for the traffic light to change (Berk is not quite a one traffic light village-we have four around the town square) when a guy came rushing around the corner, talking on his phone and not paying much attention to anything else, and bumped right into me.

"Watch it!" He snapped, but then seemed to realize that he was actually the one at fault and said more contritely, "Uh, sorry, kid. Wasn't paying attention."

Before I could respond, he was already heading off down the cobbled sidewalk, still talking on his phone.

I heard him say crossly, "Well, that's not my fault. It was catering to His Majesty that cost me the ferry job."

I gave him a sharp look, remembering that Dad had gone to Dragon Island to help Gobber because the ferry boat captain had been fired for not showing up to work. Could this be the guy? He looked awfully young to be captaining a ship-only around twenty or so, tall and brawny, with dark hair, wearing a blue sweater and brown trousers. He wasn't from Berk, I did know that. Maybe he was from one of the other islands in the Archipelago?

He slid into a black Porsche convertible parked on the side of the street, tossing his phone towards the passenger seat. He seemed like the type who would tear off at twice the legal limit, but instead he drove almost sedately, using his signal and checking carefully before turning down a side street and disappearing from view.

Almost too carefully? Like he didn't want to give the police any reason to stop him?

Then I could hear Dad's voice in my head—_Hiccup, you're being ridiculous._

I sighed. No doubt Dad was right. So what if the guy was young and had a nice car? Wealthy tourists weren't unheard of around here, especially in the summer. They didn't come in droves, but there were always some people who came to see the dragons.

Except that the tourists didn't usually take jobs while they were here, and there was at least one dragon poacher on the loose.

"Hiccup! Are you going to stand there all day? The light's already changed once."

That was Sven. He must have finished with Mulch's cat and locked the office because he was standing next to the white truck he and Phlegma drove for work. I hurried across the street and climbed into the truck.

As we drove back to the Wildlife Center, I decided to mention my suspicions to Sven. He'd probably think I was crazy, but what if that guy was a poacher and I didn't say anything and he hurt more dragons? Then I would hate myself for keeping quiet.

Sure enough, Sven shook his head. "You kids watch too much television. You don't know for sure if that guy was the ferry boat captain, and even if he was, having a poor work ethic isn't a crime."

"I know that, but you and Phlegma said there could be dragon poachers around and he is a stranger," I pointed out.

Sven sighed. "All right. I'll mention it to Clueless, but I doubt anything will come of it."

Clueless Bell is the police chief on Berk. Yes, you read that right—our police chief is nicknamed Clueless. I'll give you a minute to go roll around on the floor and laugh. He is also distantly related to Gobber, though by the time Gobber tried to explain the tangle of cousins, half-aunts, and grand-uncles, I was completely lost.

We have very little crime on Berk, although I'm not sure if that's due to Clueless' skill or the fact that this is a small town where everyone knows everyone. I think the most work that Clueless has ever had was the day a few years ago when Old Mildew got drunk and went streaking around the island. Now, that was a day to remember—whether you want to or not.

It was still about ten minutes before noon when Sven and I reached the Center, but he told me I could go on if I wanted. Of course I could hardly wait to see Toothless, and it was even better if I could avoid seeing Sly and the others, so I quickly grabbed my bike and headed for home.

I packed lunch for us and then decided to bring along my sketchbook and pencils, too. Toothless was waiting for me this time and I ran over and gave him a big hug while he chirped and warbled and almost knocked me over dancing around me.

"I Icka!"

"Hey, bud! I missed you too. How's your morning been? Did you go flying again?"

Toothless spread his wings and preened.

I unpacked our lunch and sat down cross-legged in the grass while Toothless settled down beside me. "Well, guess what? I found some harnesses in the carriage house and I think I can fix at least one of them. It may take a few days, but I'll be able to fly with you! Isn't that great?"

Toothless seemed to think so too, and while we ate, I told him about the rest of my morning. Then we looked through my sketchbook. I'm not a great artist, not at all, but I like to draw and Toothless looked at all my pictures with interest-the ones of Dad, our house, the beach, and then…

"Eee!" Toothless chirped happily.

"Yea, I drew it from one of the pictures I took of you with my phone. What do you think?"

It was a close-up of Toothless, looking directly at the viewer with his head slightly tilted, his eyes big and round. It was one of the best drawings I've done and I was pretty pleased with it, if I do say so myself. Toothless gave me a gentle push with his nose. I took that to mean that he liked it, too.

It was a fun afternoon. We played tag and hide-n-seek around the cove, and I discovered that if I held my phone so that the sunlight bounced off of it, Toothless would chase and pounce on the reflection, like a big cat. We play-fought with me jumping at his neck and Toothless very carefully batting at me with his front paws, just barely touching me so I wouldn't get hurt.

Finally we sank back down in the grass near the pond to rest and I began another sketch of Toothless, drawing him slightly crouched down with his wings spread, about to take flight. He watched lazily, and as I shaded in the scalloped points of his wings, I brought up something that had been bothering me ever since I had wondered if Porsche Guy might be a poacher.

"Toothless, remember I told you about that guy bumping into me this morning, and that I wondered if he might be a dragon poacher?"

Toothless growled menacingly.

"Well, he probably isn't, but there are poachers out there, and I was thinking that you're here all alone in the cove when I'm not here. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, bud."

Toothless pushed me gently again, as if to say that I was being silly.

"I know, you're all strong and fierce. But I can't help worrying. If there is a dragon poacher on Berk…well, that's just too close." I patted Toothless' shoulder. "So I was thinking, what about if you came home with me? We could sneak you in pretty easily right now, since Dad's gone. Then if any poacher did come here, you'd be safe."

Toothless looked at me. I swear, the long-suffering expression on his face was just like Dad's when he thought I was being paranoid.

So I decided to play the sympathy card, except that it was true and I really did want Toothless to come home with me, both for his own safety and just because it would be fun to spend more time together.

"Please, Toothless. I've never had a friend to sleep over before. The closest thing I've ever had was Sly staying a couple times when we were younger, but that doesn't count because he was always shoving me around and I spent most of the time hiding from him. When we were ten, I beat him at Monopoly—that's a board game—and he knocked me out of my chair. I hit him back, but he's always been bigger and stronger so that didn't end well for me."

Toothless growled again, and I grinned. "Yeah, I'd love to see Sly try something with you around. So will you come home with me, Toothless? Please, bud?"

He nodded and I patted his shoulder. "Good. Maybe we better go then. It'll be time for dinner soon." I pointed to the narrow gap in the rock wall where I always entered. "Can you fly out and meet me on the other side there?"

It was a little strange to have Toothless with me outside the cove, but it was great too. I wished that we could always stay together. I wondered if I could manage to sneak him in and out once Dad returned home in a couple days, but then I decided to just take things one step at a time, and the first step was sneaking him in tonight.

At the edge of the forest, I stopped Toothless. "Hold on, let me make sure no one's outside."

There wasn't, but before we went on, I pointed to a set of windows on the ground floor. "Those windows are in the kitchen. This time of day, Mr. and Mrs. Holt are probably there or in the dining room. So don't go in front of the kitchen windows. The dining room windows are on the right side of the house. We don't have to worry about those now."

I indicated another set of windows on the first floor above ground. "That's my room. That's where we're going to go."

We crept along the edge of the forest as far as we could and then, after one more quick look around to make sure no one was watching from the windows, we hurried across the lawn to the door to the mud room. I opened it and cautiously peered inside before motioning for Toothless to slip in with me.

I led him towards the back staircase. It was more narrow than the grand oak staircase in the entrance hall, but the stairs were still wide enough for Toothless and we didn't have to go past the dining room to get to the them.

We were halfway up when Mrs. Holt called my name and came to the kitchen door. Frantically I motioned for Toothless to hurry on to the top and luckily, he got out of sight just in time.

"Hiccup, we're going to eat a little early tonight. Mr. Holt and I have decided to go to the cinema this evening. Would you like to come?"

"No thanks. I'm kind of tired. I think I'll just stay here."

She frowned. "I don't like leaving you in this big house all alone at night."

I sighed. "I'm fourteen, Mrs. Holt. I'll be fine. You can set the alarm when you leave and I've got my phone."

I had Toothless, too, but of course I couldn't say that.

She smiled. "You're right. Very well, then. Hurry and wash up. We'll be eating dinner in a few minutes."

I showed Toothless to my room. He looked around curiously at the walnut paneled walls, the wide double windows with moss-green velvet drapes, the big four-poster bed with a matching moss-green spread and pillows, the desk, the bookcase, and chest of drawers, and the corner fireplace. He crooned approvingly before moving around, examining everything. I guess it would seem strange to him, since I don't imagine he would have ever been inside a human house or bedroom before.

"It's pretty nice, isn't it? Which is a good thing cause I spent a lot of time here before I met you, bud."

I crossed over to the windows and knelt on the cushion in the window seat while I struggled to open them. I get cold easily so I rarely have them open, but I figured Toothless might need to go outside at some point, and I could always put on a sweater.

The windows were difficult for me to draw, but Toothless came over and helped push them with his head.

"Careful there. The glass could cut you if it breaks."

But Toothless was gentle and with a protesting groan, the windows opened.

I patted his head in thanks. "Okay, if you need to go outside, you can fly out from here, but be careful not to let anyone see you. I've got to go downstairs for dinner now, but I'll be back as soon as I can. And I'll bring you up some food and water as soon as the Holts leave."

After a quick dinner of meatballs, gravy, and potatoes, Mr. and Mrs. Holt were off to the theater, and I took up some fish and a big bowl of water for Toothless. He was stretched out on the rug beside my bed, dozing, but he woke up to slurp down the haddock and tuna I had brought. Then I got several clean cloths and sat down on the floor beside him with the old harnesses and the leather restoration kit.

We spent a quiet evening while I cleaned the harnesses, carefully applied filler to the cracks, and then rubbed the leather conditioner over them. It was more time-consuming than it sounds and after finishing the first harness, I decided to put them away for the night. I placed everything into the trunk at the foot of my bed and told Toothless to wait there while I got ready for bed. Then I grabbed a pair of plaid flannel pajamas and headed for my bathroom.

A few minutes later, I was back and burying myself under the thick comforter on my bed. The night air from outside was pretty chilly, even though I had closed the windows most of the way. But I still left them unlatched so Toothless could push them open if he needed to.

"Hey, bud. You want to come up here?" I asked softly, patting the bed beside me.

Toothless immediately leaped onto my bed and then we spent a few moments untangling the covers, but finally he was settled. I sighed happily as I curled up beside him and he tucked his wing around me. His warm dragon scales chased away the night chill, and I didn't think I had ever felt so safe and so loved as I did then.

When I opened my eyes in the morning, Toothless had gone and the windows were agape. I wondered if he had returned to the cove or if he would come back here. I wanted to see him again before I had to go to the Center. It was still pretty early, so maybe if I hurried I could find him first.

I hurried to shower and change into a red hooded sweatshirt with black and white lettering, jeans, and sneakers. I went back to my bedroom to get my phone, debating about whether to close my windows or leave them open. I decided to leave them open, in case Toothless needed to get back inside, but it turned out to be an unnecessary debate. Toothless was already sitting on the rug in my bedroom.

I went to scratch behind his ear fins and under his chin. "Hey, bud. I'm glad you came back."

And then Toothless looked straight at me and said, "Hey, Hicca."

Author's Notes: Thanks for reading! Please review!


	8. Chapter 8

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Eight

I blinked, staring at Toothless in open-mouthed amazement. Then I slowly shook my head. I was imagining things. Or could I possibly still be asleep and dreaming? I pinched my arm, hard.

"Okay, I'm awake," I muttered to myself. "But I've got to be hallucinating."

Another thought occurred to me and I glared. "Sly, are you playing some kind of trick? What are you doing? Playing some audio or something?"

But even as I said it, I realized that Sly arranging this as a practical joke was pretty near impossible. He didn't even know about Toothless. And did I really think that Toothless would move his lips in perfect synchronization with the words? Toothless would never agree to help Sly trick me.

But that meant I was completely stupid, or delusional, or…

"Hicca? Okay?" Toothless stepped close and watched me in concern.

"Um, sure, bud." I swallowed hard and studied him. "Are you…talking?"

Toothless actually rolled his eyes. "Yes."

My legs felt a little weak and I decided that maybe I should sit down. So I sank down on the rug and leaned back against my bed while Toothless lay, Sphinx-like, beside me.

I looked at him. "But how? How can you speak?"

Toothless seemed to struggle with the words. "When I was hatchling, woman cared for me. She spoke often. I learned words from her. When I met you, I wanted try to speak too."

Well, maybe that helped to answer one question, but a dozen more flooded my mind.

"So what happened to that woman? Why was she taking care of you? Do you still live with her, or did you?"

Toothless shook his head. "Too much, Hicca."

I nodded. "Okay, sorry. But did you live with her still? Do you have another home?"

I had to ask, though I was terrified of the answer. I was so accustomed to thinking of Toothless as my friend, that it was unbearable to think he might have someone else he cared for more, that he might want to go back to.

But Toothless shook his head again. "No, not since big enough to care for self. Woman worked at place for dragons. Maybe like your Center? She cared for me because dam and sire gone, but she stop when I got bigger. One day I flew far, got lost. I've been alone long time." He nuzzled my cheek. "Lonely before I met you."

Something in my heart eased and I reached to hold him, laying my head next to his. "Me too, bud. I was really, really lonely before you."

After a few minutes, I sat back with a little laugh. "Wow, you can talk, really talk. This is amazing, Toothless. Can other dragons talk too?"

He considered. "Never heard other dragons speak human words, but I not know many dragons. I think maybe some can understand humans if around them enough."

"Is there a dragon language?"

Toothless nodded. "Yes, several. But common language all dragons learn is named Dragonese."

I caught my breath. "Could you teach me to speak Dragonese?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Maybe."

"How would you say our names in Dragonese? Toothless and Hiccup?"

"Hic-_cup_, Hic-_cup_," Toothless repeated my name to himself a couple of times, emphasizing the last syllable. He beamed at me. "Got it now, Hiccup."

He chirped and warbled. "That is 'Toothless' in Dragonese."

I tried to copy him, but he and I both ended up laughing at my poor attempts.

"Well, this is going to take a while, isn't it?" I finally said. "We'll have to try again later. I've got to go down for breakfast or the Holts will come up to check on me. Wait here and I'll bring you some food afterwards."

"Already eat. I fly now, so can catch own food," Toothless said.

"Oh, that's good, I guess. Just be careful and watch out for poachers," I cautioned him. "Will you still wait here for me?"

"Yes. I will wait here." Toothless yawned and laid down, stretching out on his side.

"I'll be back soon," I promised as I climbed to my feet and headed for the door.

After a quick breakfast of scrambled eggs, grapefruit, and sausage, I was back upstairs with Toothless.

"Hey bud, I know you think I'm paranoid, but I'm really worried about you being alone in the cove when there could be poachers nearby," I told him.

"What's 'paranoid'?" Toothless interrupted.

"It means being suspicious of everything, especially if there's not a real reason to be," I explained.

"Like flying over ocean and fearing a Fathomfin will leap out to eat you?" Toothless asked.

'Um, yeah, I guess. But anyway, you can't stay in my room because Mr. or Mrs. Holt might come in to clean, but I was thinking maybe you could wait for me in the old stables while I'm at the Center," I began.

"Hic-_cup_," Toothless grumbled.

"I know, I know, I'm being silly, but I really am worried about you, bud. Couldn't you please just hang out in the stables while I'm gone, and then when I come home we could go to the cove or anywhere you want," I pleaded.

Toothless sighed. "Where is stable?"

We snuck out of the house and down the pebbled path to the carriage house and stables beyond. Apparently my ancestors had a fair number of horses because there are three brick and stone buildings which comprise the stables, the big main stable where there are a dozen stalls, and then two smaller ones, with four stalls each.

Toothless was curious so I explained as we went. "They used to keep horses here. Old Mr. Madsen—he's the groundskeeper—has all his equipment in the bigger stable so we'll have to use one of the smaller ones. Mr. Madsen said that one of the small stables was a foaling barn where the mares and foals could be away from all the noise and crowd, and the other small stable was where they kept sick horses in quarantine. That just means they kept the sick horses away from the healthy ones."

Toothless stopped. "Sick? I not want to be sick."

"No, I would never put you where you could get sick," I reassured him. "That was a long time ago, and these stables are cleaned out every year anyway, so there are no more germs that could make you sick. But here, you can stay in the old foaling barn instead if you want."

I opened one of the wide double doors and we went inside. I had brought some blankets and I spread them out in one of the back stalls. "No one comes in here except when Mr. Madsen cleans and he already did that back in the spring, so you should be fine. And I'll unlatch the back doors so you can push them open if you need to go outside."

Toothless curled up on the blankets and I knelt beside him. "I know this isn't nearly as nice as the cove, and that you're only doing this for me. Thank you, Toothless. It really does mean a lot to me, to know that you're safe here."

He nuzzled me. "Hiccup a good friend. I love you."

I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him hard. "I love you, too, Toothless."

Reluctantly I stood up. "I have to go now or I'll be late. But I'll be back in three hours. And I think the harness is fixed so maybe we could fly this afternoon."

Toothless barked happily and we grinned at each other. Then I unlatched the back doors to the stable and left.

As soon as I reached the Wildlife Center, Sven and Phlegma divided us all up again. Sven took Sly with him this time, and Phlegma had Ruffnut and Tuffnut manning the desks in the gift shop and office.

I thought it was foolishly brave of her to leave them unsupervised like that.

Fishlegs was assigned to doing some chores outside; I'm not sure exactly what because just before that, Phlegma told Astrid and me that she was going to show us how to wrap bandages and make splints. Then I was torn between still feeling embarrassed about Sly pushing me into the dragon pen and being starstruck at how pretty Astrid looked. Her golden hair was in two thick braids and she wore a light blue tracksuit that matched her eyes.

She was good at bandaging and splinting too. Phlegma demonstrated a few times and then told me to hold out my arm while Astrid bandaged it. Her fingers brushed against my hand and for a second, I actually thought I might faint. My heart hammered in my chest and I could scarcely breathe.

But Astrid was cool and professional. She held a couple of flat depressor sticks on either side of my arm and quickly wrapped long strips of gauze around it and easily secured the bandage with medical tape.

"That's very good, Astrid," Phlegma approved.

Astrid smiled at her. "Thanks. My mom made us all learn first aid when she started working as the emergency dispatcher. She said it might come in handy someday."

"And she's right," Phlegma agreed. She turned to me. "Okay, Hiccup, your turn."

Just then there was a loud crash from the front and then we could hear Ruff and Tuff yelling at each other.

Phlegma sighed and headed for the door. "I'll be back in a minute. Hiccup, give it a try."

So I tried to splint and bandage Astrid's arm, but I was all butterfingers. The depressor sticks kept wanting to slip and it was hard to hold them and wrap the gauze around Astrid's arm at the same time. Of course it didn't help that my hands were shaking like leaves either.

"Sorry, I'm not very good at this," I muttered,

"It just takes some practice," Astrid said calmly. "You're left-handed, aren't you? Try holding the sticks like this with your right hand and see if that helps."

I did, and it did help a little. I managed a rather clumsy bandage before Phlegma came back in, shaking her head and muttering, "I pity their poor teachers."

"My mom says that a lot, too," Astrid volunteered, and the three of us all laughed a little. It was weird, but nice too, to feel like I was actually part of a group even if it was only for a few minutes.

After a while, Phlegma asked Astrid to help her feed the dragons and sent me to feed the birds in the aviary. Or bird, I should say, as there was only one-the puffin I had seen in a cage earlier was well enough to be outside now.

The aviary was a good-sized area behind the office, covered in mesh wire but large enough for birds to fly about a little. There was a tree and shrubbery inside, along with several wooden boxes, of various heights, with cut-out doors, I suppose for the birds to go inside for shelter if they wanted. There was a small pool of water with a flat rock in the middle, and the door to the aviary had a smaller door at the bottom.

I knelt to unlock it and pushed the pail of fish inside. I quickly realized that while I might be good with dragons, the same was not necessarily true with birds. The puffin burst from a tree, zooming straight at me, squawking angrily. I snatched my hand back through the door, but not before he ripped my sleeve with curved orange beak.

"Hey, I liked this shirt." I frowned at him. "I thought you guys were supposed to be cute and harmless."

The puffin squawked again before diving into his lunch.

"You all right, Hiccup?" Phlegma had come out to check on me.

"Yeah, he just got my shirt."

"Don't take it personally. He's getting cranky from being cooped up. Calm down, Puff. You'll be out of here soon," She said to the puffin who ignored her and kept eating.

Phlegma glanced at her watch. "Well, if you're all right, it's about noon, so we'll call it a day."

"See you tomorrow!" I was off in a flash.

I was always eager to spend my afternoons with Toothless, but especially so today, for this was the day that Toothless and I were finally going to soar into the sky together.

Author's Notes: Happy Holidays to everyone! I apologize for the short chapter. I had intended to include the first flight, but I really wanted to update again before Christmas, and I didn't want to rush the flight scene. So I decided to go ahead and post this first part and Hiccup and Toothless flying will be in the next chapter.

Thank you for reading! Please review—it's really encouraging to know if people are reading and enjoying!


	9. Chapter 9

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Nine

"Okay, bud, I think that's it," I mumbled as I finished buckling the harness around my waist and gave it a tug to be sure that it was secure and tight enough. From my perch on Toothless' back, I leaned forward to search his face.

"It's not too tight on you, is it? But not too loose either," I added quickly. After all, I did not want to plummet to my death because of an ill-fitting harness.

Toothless sighed and nodded. "It's fine, Hiccup."

As soon as I had reached home, I had checked on Toothless in the stable, and then had run to my room to get the harness and change from my torn hoodie to a green mockneck sweater. Then we had hurried to the cove and Toothless had waited calmly while I figured out how to fasten the harness around both him and me. After discussing it with him, I had fixed a circular strap around his neck too, like a collar, to give me something to hold onto besides his sensitive ear flaps.

It all sounded simple, but in practice, trying to be certain that everything fit properly and comfortably, and that I hadn't overlooked anything, it took the better part of an hour. Toothless had been remarkably patient, but even he was beginning to get antsy.

"Okay, okay." I took a deep breath and sat up straight on his back. Or more like his shoulders, to be accurate, between Toothless' neck and the place where his wings connected to his upper back. I had been so eager for this moment, but now that it was here, I had to admit that I was a little nervous. "I guess I just want to be sure I won't fall again."

Toothless turned his head to look back at me, and wrapped one wing around me, like a hug. "You will not fall, Hiccup. If you do, I will catch you. Not let you get hurt. Trust me?"

I looked into his big green eyes. "Yes," I said softly. "I trust you."

I leaned forward and curled my fingers tightly around the neck collar. "Let's go."

Toothless crouched, spread his wings, and then we were airborne. But this time I was prepared and the harness held me securely in place. Toothless was also more careful in controlling the speed and power of his flight, though it was still the most incredible experience of my life.

We flew up above the tree tops and then Toothless curved in a gentle arc towards the sea. If you can imagine what it would be like to fly on a dragon's back, it's exactly like that and more. It was a little bit like riding a horse but much smoother because we were gliding through the air. It was a little like coasting on a bicycle but I could feel the subtle movements of Toothless' muscles as he beat his wings, turned his head, and shifted his body. It might be a little like hang-gliding, but I've never done that so I don't really know.

But it was the most fun, most exciting, and most glorious thing ever.

It was noticeably cooler high in the air, especially with the wind whipping through my hair and blowing against my face. I was glad that I had switched to the warmer sweater, and I shivered though I don't know if it was from the chill or the excitement.

"Hiccup all right?" Toothless called anxiously.

I let go of the collar with one hand to pat his neck. "I'm great, bud. This is amazing!"

Then I happened to glance down at Berk's rocky coast and the windswept ocean below and felt a wave of dizziness. We were really high up here.

I grabbed back onto the collar. "But I think I'll hold on with both hands for now."

"Don't look down," Toothless advised.

I nodded. "Good idea."

I raised my eyes back to the sky, to the puffy clouds that seemed just above us, and out to the horizon. I took a deep breath and as the dizziness passed, I slowly began to relax a little.

Several tall sea stacks appeared in the distance, and Toothless glanced back at me. "Hold on, Hiccup. We'll go lower."

He dove towards the water, but not too sharply. I bent low and clung to the collar with all my might, but it wasn't really scary. Well, maybe a little, but I did feel safe and I trusted Toothless so it was mostly fun.

We soared between two of the gray craggy stacks and I heard a rough call above us. I looked up to see a flock of white seagulls. They dove to fly alongside of us for a few minutes as I looked at them in delight. Then the gulls peeled off towards the shore and Toothless called out to me to hold tight again as we approached a thicker maze of sea stacks.

He twisted through them with ease, sometimes coming so close that I feared we would crash, but then Toothless would spin away with a squeal of delight. Once we even rolled upside down, but it happened so quickly that we were right side up again almost before I realized it.

Then we were soaring over the ocean, leaving the sea stacks behind.

"Sorry, I got—what you say? Carried away?" Toothless looked back at me in concern. "You okay, Hiccup?"

I flung my arms around his neck. "Can we do that again?"

With a great roar, Toothless swung around to face the sea stacks again.

After we'd flown the maze several times—each time just as exciting as the first—Toothless headed out over the open ocean.

"Will you be all right if I catch fish?" Toothless asked. "Not scared?"

"It's all right. Go ahead," I paused. "Wait, do you have to dive into the water?"

"Only my head," Toothless reassured me. "You will be dry, mostly."

So we skimmed over the waves, with Toothless ducking his head under the water to snatch fish when he saw them close to the surface. I did get a little wet from the ocean spray, but it was so exhilarating that I didn't mind. When Toothless had had enough, he soared high again.

"Do you like?" He called to me.

"Yes! This is the most amazing thing I've ever done!"

Toothless gave a happy purr. "For me too. It's fun to fly with a friend."

We were having so much fun, in fact, that I lost track of time and direction. When I eventually happened to notice our surroundings, beyond the simple awareness of sky and clouds and ocean, I was shocked to see the sea stacks of Helheim's Gate in the distance.

"Hey, Toothless, I had no idea we'd come this far," I said. "We're pretty close to Dragon Island."

"Dragon Island?"

"Yea, remember I told you about our island and how Dad was going there for the week?" I pointed towards the wall of towering rocks. "We call those sea stacks Helheim's Gate. You go through those and Dragon Island is on the other side."

"Do you want to visit Dad?" Toothless asked.

I had to grin at him calling my father by name. But I shook my head. "Not today, bud. I'm going to have to think carefully about how to introduce you guys."

Toothless looked back at me and his expression was a little sad. "Dad doesn't like dragons?"

"Well, it's not like he'd declare war on you or anything," I answered. "But I'm not sure he'd understand our being friends. He'd probably think you were dangerous."

"Dangerous?!" Toothless looked indignant. "But I love my Hiccup. Never hurt!"

I leaned down to hug his neck. "I know that, bud. I love you too. I'm just saying that Dad might think that, so I want to make sure he knows how smart you are, and what a good friend, before you meet him."

"How?" Toothless asked curiously.

"Well, I'm not sure yet. That's why I said I'd have to give it some thought," I replied.

"So no Dragon Island today." Toothless indicated the first sea stack of the Gate rising up before us. "Let's rest there a few minutes and then we will go back."

I agreed and Toothless glided towards the stack before landing lightly on its flat top. I unhooked the harness, though I paid careful attention to how it was arranged, so I would know how to fasten it when we left, and slid off Toothless' back.

He settled down to rest, eyes closed, and I leaned back against him. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to surf the internet, but we weren't getting good reception out here so after a few minutes I gave up and put it away. We stayed there a while, with Toothless dozing and me just watching the sea and sky. Seagulls soared through the air, cawing with their rough voices, and to my delight, a flock of Terrors landed on a nearby sea stack. They looked over at Toothless and me, chattering curiously. It was a bit of a shock to realize that they were probably talking amongst themselves and to us, and I wished that I understood Dragonese and could speak with them.

I held out my hand and called to them. They eyed me suspiciously, but eventually a smaller green and rust-red one flew over and landed on our sea stack, just out of reach.

"Hi there, little guy," I said softly. "What are you doing out here?"

He chirped back and I imagined he was saying the same thing to me.

"Yea, I guess you don't see humans and dragons together too often, huh? But Toothless here is my best friend and he's letting me fly with him. We're resting now for a little while before we go back home."

The Terror tilted his head and seemed to be studying me thoughtfully. After a minute, he crept closer, sniffed at my fingers, and then curled up beside me, nudging at my hand. I grinned and petted him, rubbing behind his ears, and he purred contentedly just like a cat.

Several other Terrors came over as well, but they stayed out of reach, just watching us. I had the sense that they were both curious and protective of their friend. Eventually Toothless stirred and raised his hand. The Terrors chattered and spread their wings. Toothless glanced around and seemed to pout when he saw the little green and red one beside me.

"My friend," he grumbled. "My Hiccup."

I smiled and scratched behind his ear flaps. "Of course, bud. You're my best friend, too. But we can be friends with other dragons too, can't we?"

The little Terror got up, chirped at him, and Toothless seemed to relax. But then suddenly the whole flock of Terrors squawked and took off, flying away into the distance. The Terrors who had come over to our sea stack left too, and our new friend gave us a final warble before hurrying after the others.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"Listen," Toothless replied.

Then I heard it too—the increasingly loud hum of a speedboat. Toothless lowered himself almost flat against the sea stack and I laid down on my stomach too, though the cold rock was uncomfortable.

A dark blue boat, almost the color of the waves, appeared in the distance. Somehow it felt ominous, though I wasn't sure exactly why, unless it could be…

"Do you think it could be dragon poachers?" Toothless whispered.

"I don't know," I whispered back. "It is unusual to see boats out this way. Fishing boats don't come this close to Helheim's Gate and that's not a fishing boat anyway. It's not our Dragon Island ferry either."

"So poachers then," Toothless growled low in his throat.

"Maybe, but maybe not," I still spoke very softly, though the boat was still too far away for anyone to possibly hear us. "People do occasionally come out this way, not too often, but now and then."

We both fell silent as the boat drew near. I peered down cautiously and could make out several people in the speedboat, perhaps two men and a woman, though they were so bundled up with coats, hats, and dark glasses, that I couldn't make out any distinguishing features.

The boat slowed almost to a standstill as it approached Helheim's Gate and the people seemed to be discussing something for a few minutes. Then the speedboat curved in an arc and sped away.

Toothless and I looked at each other.

"Should we follow them? See where they go?" I asked him.

Toothless gave a sharp nod. "Must keep a safe distance though. Not get shot with dart again."

I looked at him. "Maybe we should just go home. I don't want to risk you getting shot down again either."

But Toothless shook his head. "We will keep a safe distance, not get close. Hurry with the harness, Hiccup."

So I quickly fastened the harness and then, with a strong beat of Toothless' wings, we were airborne again. But there was no playing around this time. Toothless quickly caught up with the dark blue speedboat. Well, by that I mean that we spotted it in the far distance, but we kept a good way behind it.

I had hoped that we might get some idea of where the boat was headed, but it wasn't meant to be. The weather at sea can change in a heartbeat, and in a just a matter of minutes, a thick fog rolled in, blotting out the sunlight and our view of the boat. Even more ominously, thunder rumbled, heralding one of the summer storms that often blow up in the afternoons. But flying in the open air over the ocean did not seem like a good place to be during a thunderstorm.

Toothless abruptly swung around in the opposite direction.

"Do you know the way home?" I called, fervently hoping so.

"Yes, think so," Toothless answered tersely.

I crouched low, holding on tightly to the neck strap and keeping quiet as Toothless flew furiously past sea stacks and across the waves, trying to make it to Berk before the storm hit. We were lucky that the wind was at our back, helping to push us along, though it also meant that the storm was rolling in just behind us as well.

Then Berk loomed in the distance. We were past the coastline and over the treetops. But as Toothless flew right up to the Manor House, a loud crack of thunder sounded overhead and the sky opened up. Buckets of rain fell on us as Toothless hovered outside my windows. Fortunately, they were still unlocked. I pushed them open and then we were inside my room, laughing breathlessly at our close call.

I unhooked myself from the harness, slid off Toothless' back and ran to close my windows against the storm. Toothless was shaking himself off, rather like a dog, and scattering hundreds of raindrops around my room. I took the harness off of him and hugged him tightly.

"Wow, Toothless, I don't even know what to say. That was the best, most wonderful, scary, and exciting time of my life."

"You like flying then?" He asked.

"I _love_ flying! Thank you so much! We'll just have to try to watch out for storms, that's all," I answered.

"Too bad we lost the poachers," Toothless grumbled.

"Well, we don't know for sure that they were poachers. It looked they were heading towards Outcast Island and they're always very competitive in the Regatta. Maybe those people were just out training for that." I wasn't sure if I believed that, but it was possible.

Toothless tilted his head. "What's a Regatta?"

"Like a tournament of boat races," I told him.

Toothless still looked puzzled. "Tournament?"

"Yea, it just means a lot of boat races," I explained. "Later this summer, teams from all around the Archipelago will come and race their boats. It's a big deal around here. Outcast Island always has a good team so maybe those people were just practicing for the races."

"I don't think so, Hiccup."

I sighed. "Well, I don't know if I think so either. But I'm not sure how I could mention it to anyone without having to explain how I was out at Helheim's Gate."

"We will have to watch carefully," Toothless said.

I nodded. "Yea, we will. Hey Toothless, will you be all right here while I get a shower and change into dry clothes?"

"Yes." Toothless stretched out on my rug and closed his eyes.

I grinned. "You sure nap a lot. You must be part cat."

Toothless didn't bother to open his eyes. "Hiccup did not have to beat the storm home. I have a right to nap."

"Whatever you say, Cat-Dragon," I teased.

Toothless lightly swatted the back of my head with his tail. "Get dry clothes before you get sick, little human."

I was out of towels, so I left my room to get one from the linen closet up on the third floor. But as soon as I had stepped into the hall and closed my door behind me, a pair of strong arms caught me up in a bear hug.

A booming voice declared, "Well, there's my favorite Vastley kid! We were beginning to think you'd left the Archipelago."

At the same time, another familiar voice spoke disapprovingly. "Hiccup, your clothes are soaking wet. Are you trying to catch pneumonia again?"

Dad and Gobber were home from Dragon Island.

Author's Notes: Sorry for the long wait! I was sick and then I have to admit that this chapter had me stumped for a while. I hope people are still interested in this story. Thank you for reading and please review! I really appreciate it!

I also want to recommend two talented authors, my friends OrangeCat64 and Silver Sentinel!


	10. Chapter 10

The Outcast and the Night Fury

Chapter 10

I almost jumped out of my skin, or I would have if Gobber hadn't been squeezing the air from my lungs. "Dad! Hey! I thought you weren't coming home til tomorrow."

"What, no greeting for me?" That was Gobber.

I smiled and hugged him back, hard. My godfather is one of my favorite people in the world. "Gobber! I missed you. I haven't seen you in forever!"

"Yea, it's been too long," he agreed regretfully as he stepped back. "But that ferry boat captain came back and promised to do better, so the concierge decided to give him another chance."

Gobber shrugged. "Not that there was much choice, really. Your dad and I couldn't stay there forever and no one else was applying for the job. So anyway, we thought we'd head on back to Berk."

Dad was still frowning. "Hiccup, you need to get out of those wet clothes before you catch your death."

"I was just getting a towel so I could take a shower," I explained quietly.

"Well, we'll let you get on with it. Come on, Stoick, let's have a drink before dinner." Gobber started down the hall towards the stairs.

"Hurry up then, Hiccup. We don't want to wait dinner on you," Dad admonished as he followed Gobber.

I sighed in relief as they disappeared down the stairs and in spite of Dad's decree, I slipped back into my room to check on Toothless. But there was no sign of the Night Fury. I checked around my room, and my windows were still closed against the pouring rain outside. Then I noticed that the door leading to my bathroom was ajar and I smiled as I hurried through the door, expecting to see Toothless, only to stop and frown when he wasn't there.

Until I heard a soft sound behind the shower curtain. I pulled it back and Toothless was scrunched into the corner, trying to be as small as possible—which wasn't very small, actually.

I had to laugh. "It's okay, bud. Dad and Gobber went downstairs. You can come out."

Toothless looked about cautiously as we went back to my bedroom. "I heard voices right outside your door. Thought I should hide."

"Yea, that was a close call," I agreed. "But they're not likely to come back up here now." Then I hesitated and pointed towards the space between my bed and the windows. "Maybe you could lie down over there though, just to be sure. Then no one would see you if they opened the door and looked in."

Toothless did so, and I raced up to the third floor, grabbed a towel, and hurried back to get my shower. Dad and Gobber were dressed casually in sweaters and chinos, so once I was clean and dry, I pulled on a white Aran-knit turtleneck, olive-green trousers, and my loafers, told Toothless I would be back as soon as I could, and went down to the dining room.

Dad and Gobber were coming from the library just as I came down, and we all entered the dining room and took our seats; Dad at the head of the table with Gobber on his right and me on his left.

The Holts were setting plates out on the long table, and I noticed that they had both dressed more formally now that Dad was back home, with Mrs. Holt in a gray dress and Mr. Holt in his dark suit. It has always struck me as funny that they dress up more than we do, unless we have company (Gobber doesn't count).

Dinner wasn't particularly fancy, but it was good—a yak roast with potatoes and vegetable stew. I ate quietly and listened as they talked about their time on Dragon Island, the Regatta coming up at the end of the summer, and then some financial reports.

We finished dessert—a chocolate cheesecake—and Dad invited Gobber to stay and play billiards, but Gobber shook his head.

"I better take a rain check. It's been a long day and I need to be getting home."

"All right then. Oh, Gobber, I wanted you to take the latest reports from that hedge fund company in Stockholm. You might need to call Nils tomorrow," Dad said.

Gobber nodded and Dad jumped to his feet. "They're in my study. I'll be right back."

He left and Gobber turned to me. "You've been awfully quiet, kiddo. So what's up with you lately?"

I shrugged. I certainly couldn't talk about Toothless, not even with Gobber. "Not much. I've just been helping at the Wildlife Center in the mornings."

"Yea, your dad mentioned it. And he said you're almost through with school, just one more class and you'll graduate."

I nodded. "Yea, a class on Medieval Literature. I'm going to take it this fall and then I should have all my credits by Christmas."

Gobber beamed. "That's great, Hiccup. You're a smart one. Your dad couldn't stop bragging about you the whole time we were at the Lodge."

I blinked. "What?"

"Oh, sure. He told everyone there about you being such a genius," Gobber told me. "About how you're going to finish high school before you're even fifteen and how you're going to go to Oxford in a few years."

Hmm. I mentioned wanting to go to Oxford once several months ago. I hadn't even thought that Dad had been listening. And bragging about me? Gobber had to be mistaken about that. Dad barely tolerated me. He certainly wasn't proud of me for anything.

I shook my head. "Gobber, Dad's not proud of me. He'd be happier if I could play hockey than about my finishing school early."

Gobber sighed. "No, Hiccup, that's not true. I've seen him so proud of you that he could bust. But he's terrible about showing it."

He hesitated, then spoke more quietly. "You know your grandparents died in that accident a few months before he met your mum. And then the whole deal with their marriage breaking up, and him thinking that he might lose you too, when you were so sick as a wee tyke. Well, your dad's never been quite the same since all that happened. He cares—a lot—but he keeps it close inside, you know."

I didn't know and I could only stare at Gobber in disbelief.

He sighed again and stood up, patting my shoulder. "He's wrong, of course, to make you feel this way, but don't give up on him, kiddo, and I'll keep working on him from my end."

Dad came back then with the papers, and soon afterwards Gobber told us good night and left.

Dad glanced over to me. "Everything go all right while I was gone?"

"Yes." I started to tell him about learning to bandage and splint with Astrid at the Center, and about how the puffin didn't seem to like me, for some reason. But before I could, Dad frowned.

"Other than you deciding to play outside in a thunderstorm, you mean? I thought you had more common sense than that, Hiccup."

For a second, I felt a flash of anger. If I stayed inside, Dad fussed about me not getting any fresh air and exercise. But when I went outside, he complained that I could get hurt or sick. I could never win with him. Maybe Gobber was right, but if Dad did care, it seemed to me that he kept it close inside indeed.

"I came inside as quickly as I could," I answered quietly.

Dad looked at me a moment but I couldn't read his expression. Finally, he just said, "Well, get some rest."

His voice still sounded curt to me, but as he went by, he rather tentatively patted my shoulder, just like Gobber had earlier. He headed back towards the screening room and I stared after him in confusion. For just a second, I considered going after Dad, to see if maybe we could watch a movie or television show together, but then I thought of Toothless waiting for me in my room, and I hurried upstairs to him.

At least with Toothless, I didn't have to wonder if he cared about me.

Life settled into a routine over the next couple of weeks. Toothless hid in the old stables in the morning while I went to the Center. He was a little nervous about it at first, but I reassured him that no one would come out there, and I knew no one would. Dad never went there and Old Mr. Madsen only did in the spring when he cleaned.

Then in the afternoons Toothless and I went flying. It was absolutely amazing. Flying never got old. It was always fun and exciting.

Toothless hid in my room while I had dinner and then we spent the evenings together. Toothless kept trying to teach me Dragonese, although he said my accent was hopeless. And sometimes I read aloud to him or we watched movies or videos on my computer. Toothless was fascinated with everything about human culture.

He laid down on the far side of my room until we heard Dad go to bed. Then he crawled in with me, and I slept with his wing tucked around me.

It was the happiest two weeks of my life.

Things were a little better at the Center, too. I was mostly working on something by myself or accompanying Sven or Phlegma, so I wasn't really interacting with the other kids much, but they weren't picking on me at least. Once when we were leaving, Tuffnut sneered at me but before he could say or do anything, Sly yelled at him to come on, that they were late for hockey practice. Ever since I fell into the dragon pen, Sly had left me alone and for a second, I wondered if he might actually be protecting me, but then I decided that that was crazy. Their being late for hockey practice was just a lucky coincidence.

Best of all, Astrid actually said hello to me one morning when we were the first ones to arrive, but the other kids showed up while I was still staring at her in dumbfounded amazement.

One morning in mid-July I was once again trying to leave food out for Puff the Evil Puffin, without losing a finger in the process, when Sven hurried by, calling to me and to Fishlegs, who was cleaning a nearby pen.

"We've got an emergency call! You kids head on home now."

He and Phlegma shooed us all out through the main building and they took off in their white truck.

"Well, I guess we've got a free day," Sly said. "Let's go to the beach."

"I could bring a picnic lunch for us," Fishlegs offered.

"We'll bring soda and the volleyball stuff," Ruffnut agreed.

"Let's go!" Tuffnut yelled.

Astrid shook her head. "I've got tae kwon do this afternoon. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

I was hanging back, away from the group. Even if things had been slightly better with the other kids lately, there was no sense in pushing my luck. After all, there was no way they would have included me anyway.

So Sly, Fishlegs, and the twins headed off down the lane, and Astrid and I were left standing alone in the parking lot.

We looked at each other a little awkwardly.

"So are you all right here?" I asked, trying to be chivalrous, though I knew how laughable that was. If there had been any threat, Astrid would have needed to protect me.

"Yea, I'll just read til Mom comes to pick me up." Astrid smiled and took a Kindle from her bag.

"Um, do you need to borrow a phone to call her?" I offered.

"Thanks, but no. I've got my phone. It's just that Mom's working at the dispatch today and I'm not supposed to call her there unless it's a life or death situation. She'll come to get me on her lunch hour, so it's fine. But thanks anyway."

"Well, okay." I felt a little bad, just leaving Astrid there alone, but she seemed fine and she probably didn't really want me hanging around anyway. I went to get my bike and Astrid went to sit against the dragon pen wall.

But before I left, Astrid suddenly called out, "Hiccup, wait! I think she's hurt."

"What? Who?" I left my bike and hurried over.

Astrid pointed and we could see the Gronkle standing below us in the pen, looking up at us and whining softly, with a bloody cut on her right front leg.

"Hey, Meatlug. Don't worry. We'll help you," I called down to her. But then I looked over at Astrid. "Did Sven and Phlegma lock the office? I guess I could go home and bring back some water and bandages."

But Astrid was already rummaging through her bag. "Phlegma gave me a key before they left. She said I could wait inside for Mom if I wanted."

She found the key and we hurried into the veterinary office to collect supplies—a clean bowl of water, antibiotic ointment, and bandages—before heading for the pen. We went downstairs in the office and out through the side door that led directly into the enclosure.

The other dragons were gathered around Meatlug, except for the Nightmare who stood a little distance away.

Astrid eyed them warily. "I don't know, Hiccup. What about them? I don't want either of us to get hurt."

"I don't think they will."

But as we approached, I felt a flash of anxiety. Sure, the dragons had seemed nice enough when I had fallen, but did I know that for sure? Maybe they'd be more edgy with one of them hurt. I certainly didn't want to find out the hard way.

I called to them, trying to sound calm and reassuring. "It's okay, guys. We just want to help your friend."

I wasn't sure if they understood me or not, but the Nadder and Zippleback backed away and Meatlug lay down on her side and actually held her right leg out to us. So we approached and cleaned the wound, or rather, I cleaned it. Astrid was still watching the dragons warily.

Once I had washed the blood away and very gently patted the leg dry, I could see that the cut didn't look too bad. It was shallow and had already stopped bleeding, but I thought we should probably bandage it to keep it from getting infected.

"I think it's all right," I said softly to the Gronkle. "That cut doesn't look deep, but we don't want it to get infected so I'm going to put some of this ointment on and then we'll bandage it. All right?"

Meatlug made a small sound deep in her throat that might have been agreement, and I smeared some of the ointment on before wiping my hands on a clean cloth.

Then I looked over at Astrid. "Um hey Astrid, you're a lot better at bandaging than I am."

She hesitated, but then looked into the Gronkle's soft eyes and relaxed. "Okay. Meatlug? Just hold still a few more minutes."

She wrapped the gauze around Meatlug's leg and taped it down with a deft touch. "Well, I think that's it."

We stepped back as the Gronkle carefully climbed to her feet. She warbled softly and then nuzzled our faces, first me and then Astrid.

I laughed and scratched Meatlug on the sides of her face and behind her ears. "You're welcome."

"She'll let us pet her?" Astrid sounded torn, as if she wanted to pet Meatlug too, but was afraid.

"Apparently," I answered, still laughing a little as Meatlug licked my cheeks and mussed my hair.

Without even thinking about what I was doing, I reached to take Astrid's hand and started to set it gently onto Meatlug's nose (snout?). But then, abruptly, a blue and gold flash pushed its way forward and I placed Astrid's hand onto the Nadder's beak instead.

Astrid and I both stared in amazement. But the Nadder looked very pleased as she rubbed her own face against Astrid's hand.

"I guess she likes you," I said, rather inanely, after a moment.

"Wow," Astrid breathed. Slowly she stroked the Nadder's face. "You're really beautiful, aren't you, girl?"

Then she smiled over at Meatlug. "And you are too, of course."

The Zippleback must have decided that it wanted to try this 'bonding with humans' thing too because it marched over and pushed its heads at us—one towards me and one towards Astrid. We burst out laughing and patted it too.

Then the Nadder and Zippleback stepped close to Meatlug, sniffing at her and nudging her with their heads, making sure that she was all right, I suppose.

I glanced over at the only dragon who had held back. The Nightmare was standing a short distance away, watching us grumpily.

"You're not feeling so friendly, huh?" I asked him. He didn't respond, but after watching him for a moment, I thought that maybe I had misjudged his expression. Maybe he didn't look grumpy so much as guilty.

But why would he feel guilty?

Then I noticed that one of his long, curved front claws was stained a dark reddish-brown. "Oh. Well, I'm sure you didn't mean to hurt Meatlug. It must have been an accident. What happened? Were you guys playing and somehow her leg got hurt?"

For a second, the Nightmare gave me an indignant look. It didn't make sense, but I swear I could almost imagine him thinking S_illy human. _ _Nightmares don't play. They train and practice._

I stepped towards him, my hand outstretched. "Well, whatever happened, I'm sure it was an accident. I don't think Meatlug would want you to feel guilty."

"All right, all right," I added as the Nightmare huffed at me. "You're all fierce and bad. You don't feel guilty about anything."

His yellow eyes narrowed and I paused, not sure what message he was trying to send. But then Meatlug hobbled forward and chirped at him. The Nightmare hesitated, but then came over to her. Meatlug licked his face and I'm sure I saw him give her a tiny nudge back before he quickly moved away.

The Nightmare looked back at me and it seemed that his eyes softened, just slightly, as he nodded his head at me. Then he disappeared back into the copse of trees.

The Zippleback warbled at us and then it too wandered off.

Astrid shook her head slowly. "I can't believe it. I absolutely cannot believe it. This is amazing. How did you ever get to be so good with dragons?"

I shrugged. Again, I wasn't about to mention Toothless, not even to Astrid. "I don't know. When I fell in here the other day, I noticed that they seemed really smart, and it was like they were worried about me. So I just feel like they're very intelligent animals. Maybe even as smart as we are."

Meatlug gave me an indulgent look, while the Nadder huffed as indignantly as the Nightmare had a few minutes earlier.

Astrid grinned. "I think they're telling you that they're much smarter than we are."

She shook her head again. "I have to say, tae kwon do is going to be pretty boring after this." She scratched the Nadder's head one last time and began gathering up the supplies. "And speaking of tae kwon do, my mom should be here soon. We better get this cleaned up."

We bid the dragons farewell and took the supplies back inside the office. I found some paper and a pen and scribbled a note to Sven and Phlegma, telling them about Meatlug's injury so they could check on her when they returned.

"Good idea," Astrid approved as we taped the note to the front door.

"I'll call this evening and see how she's doing," I said.

"Will you let me know, too? Here, give me your phone and I'll put my number in."

I watched in slack-jawed amazement as Astrid took my phone, punched some numbers, and handed it back to me. This had to be a dream. Surely I was going to wake up any minute now.

Just then a horn beeped, but I didn't wake up so maybe this was real after all. I looked up to see a blue SUV pull into the parking lot and Astrid's mom waved to us. She is a pretty blonde woman who looks a lot like Astrid, or I guess it would be more accurate to say that Astrid looks a lot like her.

She rolled the window down. "Hi, kids. Hiccup, can we give you a lift somewhere?"

I would have liked to have taken her up on that offer, so I could spend a little more time with Astrid. But I had my bike and I didn't need a ride.

So I shook my head. "Thanks, Mrs. Hofferson, but I've got my bike. I'm just going home."

Astrid and I glanced at each other, a little awkwardly.

"Well, I'll talk with you later then," she said as she tossed her bag into the SUV and jumped into the passenger seat.

I nodded. "Okay, that sounds good."

Mrs Hofferson turned the SUV around and drove off. I watched them disappear down the lane, and then I went to get my bike and slowly started for home.


	11. Chapter 11

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter 11

I called Phlegma that evening after dinner to check on Meatlug. She wasn't happy that Astrid and I had gone amongst the dragons all alone and unsupervised. Actually, that's putting it mildly. I had to hold the phone away from my ear she was yelling so loudly.

"But Phlegma, the dragons were perfectly calm," I said when she had finally begun to calm down. "That puffin is more dangerous than the dragons."

"A puffin does not breathe flames and have six-inch claws," Phlegma retorted, although I could tell from her voice that she was actually amused now and trying not to show it.

"But he has a six-inch sharp beak and he nearly snaps my fingers off every time I feed him," I told her. "He's torn three of my shirts ripping the sleeves."

"Hiccup, if you're trying to convince me that a puffin is more dangerous than a dragon, I think you're going to lose that argument," Phlegma said firmly.

I glanced over to where Toothless was stretched out on my rug, batting lazily at the little ball of wool I had found for him to play with. He grinned gummily at me. "She's right. We're very dangerous."

I rolled my eyes at him. Truth be told, Toothless had been pretty upset at first too, when I had told him about our tending to Meatlug. I had already had to listen to him lecture me about how not all dragons were as nice as he was. When I had pointed out that the Center dragons and I were familiar with each other and they had always seemed pretty friendly, he had simply huffed at me and gone to lie down on the rug.

"I'm sorry, Phlegma," I apologized. "It's just that Meatlug was hurt and we wanted to help her. How is she?"

Phlegma sighed. "She's fine. You and Astrid did a good job caring for her, and the cut should heal within a few days. But I want you kids to be careful and not risk hurting yourselves."

"We will," I assured her cheerfully. "Thanks, Phlegma. See you tomorrow."

Then I looked up Astrid's number on my phone and stared uncertainly at it for a long moment. Was I really brave enough to call Astrid Hofferson, the most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago—no, make that the whole world?

Apparently, I stared so intently at the phone that it got Toothless' attention. He pulled himself to his feet and stepped close to my bed to peer down at it too.

"What is it, Hiccup?"

"Oh, nothing, bud." I scratched under his chin. "I'm just trying to decide whether I should call Astrid."

"The most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago?"

I had to smile. "I've mentioned her then?"

"Only a few hundred times." Toothless stretched his neck out. "Hmm, that's nice. Keep scratching."

I obliged and Toothless hummed contentedly for a few minutes before flopping back down to the rug.

"Call her," He advised.

"You think I should?"

"She asked you to call, didn't she? She gave you her number, didn't she?" Toothless pointed out. "So call her."

"Well, when you put it like that…" I took a deep breath and hit the call button.

Astrid answered on the third ring. "Hiccup? Hi."

"Um, hi, Astrid. I was just calling about Meatlug, cause you said it was all right to call, and so I did," I stammered. Then I closed my eyes and scrunched my face up at how pathetic I sounded.

Toothless smacked the back of my head lightly with his tailfin and shook his head at me. "Relax."

I took a deep breath. "I just talked with Phlegma and she said Meatlug was fine."

"Oh, good. I was worried about her—Meatlug, that is," Astrid clarified. "Thanks for letting me know."

"Um, you're welcome."

There was an awkward pause while I tried to think of something to say, but my mind was blank.

Then Astrid asked, "So how was your afternoon?"

"Oh, it was good," I answered quickly before abruptly coming to a stop. I couldn't exactly elaborate on that. I was perfectly comfortable flying now and Toothless and I had spent the afternoon trying out some aerial acrobatics, doing some upside-down loops and spirals and sharp dives. It had been fantastic fun.

But I certainly couldn't tell Astrid about that. I couldn't even say something like that I had been hanging out with a friend, because Astrid knew that none of the kids on Berk were friends with me.

Then I thought of asking about her afternoon. "How was your tae kwon do class?"

"It was great!" Astrid exclaimed enthusiastically. "We had several sparring matches and I won all of mine."

"Congratulations," I told her. "You must be really good."

"Well, I've been studying it since I was little," Astrid replied. "Sorry, I didn't mean to sound like I was bragging."

"No, you didn't. I think that's really great," I said.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Another awkward pause.

"Well, thanks for letting me know about Meatlug," Astrid finally spoke. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow at the Center."

"Yeah," I agreed. "Oh, by the way, Phlegma isn't exactly happy that we went into the dragon pen with no one there."

"I guess I can't blame her," Astrid said. "But the dragons really seemed pretty friendly, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did."

"Well, see you tomorrow."

"Okay, bye." We hung up and I looked over at Toothless. "I guess that didn't go too badly, huh?"

Toothless tilted his head at me. "Why would it go badly? She asked you to call."

I shrugged and looked down. "I don't know, just…none of the kids around here like me so I'm not exactly used to having conversations with them, especially Astrid."

Toothless came back over to sit beside me. He reached over to nuzzle my hair. "How can they not like you? You're the nicest person in the world."

I hugged him. "Ah, thanks bud. I need you around all the time. You're good for my ego."

Toothless wasn't distracted. "Why do they not like you?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I guess because I'm just so different from them."

Toothless studied me carefully. "How different?"

"Well, I'm short and skinny and not any good at sports, at least the sports that people around here care about," I began. "And I don't go to school with them, so we don't really have much in common."

I shrugged. "Sly and the twins have always liked to say mean things and push me around, I don't really know why. I guess sometimes people just don't like anyone who's different."

Toothless licked my cheek. "They are stupid then. Don't worry about them, Hiccup. I love you."

I leaned my head against him. "I love you, too. You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

As we sat there, with our heads together, a tendril of worry crept through my mind. Could Toothless and I really keep our friendship a secret indefinitely? How would we manage when winter came, when we could be snowed in for days at a time? It seemed almost inevitable that someone would find out eventually, and then what would happen?

But I knew one thing for sure. Toothless was definitely the best thing that had ever happened to me and I wasn't going to let him go. Whatever it took, somehow, I was going to make sure we stayed together.

H &T H & T H & T H & T H & T H & T

The other kids were already waiting in the Center parking lot when I coasted in on my bicycle the next morning. I tensed, prepared for the snide taunts, but Astrid waved to me.

"Hey Hiccup, didn't we go into the pen and bandage Meatlug's leg yesterday?"

"Um yea, we did." I leaned my bicycle against the dragon pen wall and eyed the other kids uncertainly.

Fishlegs looked awed. "And the dragons let you? Wow, that's amazing. Weren't you scared?"

"I was at first," Astrid said. "But Hiccup was cool as a cucumber. The dragons really seem to like him."

That was the perfect opening for Sly or the twins to make a rude comment, but they just stared at me as if I had suddenly grown two heads, looking almost impressed.

It was so unprecedented that I had no idea how to respond, or what would have happened next, but the moment was broken by Sven and Phlegma arriving in their white pick-up truck. We all moved out of the way as they parked and climbed out.

Sven nodded to us. "Morning, kids. Let's get to work."

At the same time, Phlegma said firmly, "Astrid, I need to speak with you for a minute."

Astrid caught my eye and actually winked, but then she looked appropriately solemn as Phlegma warned her about the dangers of going into the dragon enclosure.

I did notice, though, that she didn't promise not to do it again.

The morning passed quickly as we did our various chores, and in fact, Sven and Phlegma let us all watch—from the outside of the pen—as they checked Meatlug's leg and re-bandaged it. Meatlug and the other dragons looked back at us, and crazy as it seemed, I thought that they would have liked for us to come down there with them. But of course, there was no way we could do that with Sven and Phlegma there.

Several more days passed. Things were definitely better with the other kids. I still wasn't really included, but Astrid always greeted me in the mornings and said good-bye when we left, and sometimes Fishlegs did too. Sly and the twins had left off bullying me, though they mostly ignored me.

But one afternoon, when I thought the others had left already, I went over to the dragon pen and watched them for a minute. Meatlug and the Zippleback were stretched out in the sun, dozing, while the Nadder polished her scales, and the Nightmare lurked in the shadows. But when they noticed me, they all came over to the wall and chirped and warbled at me.

I grinned. "Hey guys. I can't come down there now. Sven and Phlegma would have a fit if they saw me. But maybe one day, when they're not around…."

As I turned away, I saw that Ruffnut was still there, standing nearby. Our eyes met and then she grinned at me and just walked away down the lane after the others.

I told Toothless about it a short time later when we were getting ready to fly. "I don't know, bud. When twins grin at you, it usually means…."

We were stepping out of the old stable where Toothless hid when I stopped, both walking and talking, so abruptly that Toothless bumped into me.

"Hey," he grumbled. "What is it?"

At the same time another voice was speaking. "Hiccup? There you are, I was wondering…"

Astrid! Astrid Hofferson was standing there, right on the pebbled path outside the stables. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes grew as big as saucers as she saw Toothless with me.

We all stood there, staring at each other in shock for a moment.

But then I realized that I needed to take control of the situation before Astrid could run off and tell anyone about Toothless. I wasn't sure if she would do that, of course, but the way she was gazing bug-eyed at him, I didn't know what she might do.

"Hm, hi Astrid. This is Toothless. Toothless, Astrid," I introduced them with a wave of my hand.

"The most amazing girl in the whole Archipelago?" Toothless inquired. "Hi, Astrid."

I could have smacked him, both for speaking in front of her and for what he said. But Astrid seemed to be so shocked that she wasn't registering exactly what Toothless had told her.

"That's a dragon," She finally managed to say.

I nodded. "Yes."

Astrid swallowed hard. "And he's talking."

Toothless nodded. "Yes."

Astrid blinked and took a deep breath. "Well, I guess that explains why you're good with the dragons."

She shook her head and looked at me. "Hiccup Vastley, how the heck do you have a dragon?"

"Well, I don't own him or anything. Toothless is like a person," I explained. "He's my friend."

Toothless nuzzled my cheek and I had to smile. "My best friend."

"I was hurt and Hiccup saved me," Toothless told her.

Suddenly I glanced around, realizing that we were all just standing out in the open. "Hey, we need to get out of sight. No one else knows about Toothless. Let's go back in the stable and we'll tell you the story."

So we went back inside and sat down on the blankets I had spread in the stall for Toothless, and he and I told Astrid about how we had met and become friends. She listened intently and when we had finished, she shook her head again, looking impressed.

"Wow, that's so incredible," She beamed at us. "I never imagined dragons were like people. Hey, do you think the dragons at the Center can talk too?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "I've wondered, but it's hard to be alone with them with everyone there in the mornings. I've never heard them speak, but it does seem like they understand us."

Astrid looked over at Toothless. "Can other dragons talk, Toothless?"

"All dragons can speak Dragonese," he answered. "But I have not heard any other dragon speak human languages."

He tilted his head. "But I do not know many dragons. I was an orphan hatchling, raised by humans at a place like your Center. I was only around humans when I was small, especially one nice lady. She spoke to me all the time, and I learned human language from her. When I was bigger, she introduced me to a few other dragons, so I could learn to be like them. Dragonese was actually difficult for me at first, but a Stormcutter helped me a lot and I finally learned it too."

"Cloudjumper—the Stormcutter-and the other dragons there understood the people, but they did not speak in human language," Toothless paused, considering. "I don't know if they were unable to, or if they just chose not to. They did caution me not to speak with humans, that not all humans were nice like at our place, and that it could be dangerous to let humans know how intelligent we are."

He grinned gummily. "But when I met Hiccup, I knew he was safe so I tried speaking to him."

He licked my face and hair enthusiastically and I had to laugh. "Toothless, you know that doesn't wash out!"

Astrid laughed too. "Toothless, you're amazing."

"Thank you," Toothless turned to me. "You're right, Hiccup. She is…"

"Hey," I interrupted quickly before he could finish whatever he was planning to say. "Astrid, you've got to promise not to tell anyone about Toothless. Please! It's our secret, okay?"

Astrid nodded. "Okay. I won't tell. But don't you think someone else will find out eventually?"

I sighed. "I don't know. I guess I need to try to think of a way to tell my dad, but I'm just afraid that he'll over-react and not give Toothless a chance. You know, after losing my mom to dragons, I'm not sure how he'll take this."

Actually, that wasn't true. I was pretty sure that Dad would take the news badly. But maybe I did need to try to come up with some idea for talking with him about Toothless. If Dad happened to find out on his own, it would be even worse. And apparently, I couldn't trust that no one would ever happen to come upon us. After all, Astrid just had.

And why? I frowned, trying to think of a way to ask her without being rude. But I was suddenly very curious about why in the world she had been searching for me back here by the stables. In my whole life, none of the other kids had ever voluntarily come over to my house. Even Sly only came when his parents brought him.

I looked up to see that Astrid also looked torn, like she was wanting to ask me something but didn't know how.

She spoke first. "I'm sorry about your mom. How did you lose her to dragons? Oh, I'm sorry—I guess I shouldn't have asked."

"No, it's all right. She's alive and well," I explained. "I just meant that she left us to go work on a dragon preserve in the US."

"Oh, well…." Astrid trailed off uncertainly.

"Um, Astrid, I don't mean to be rude, but…?" I finally asked.

"Why am I here?" She finished. "Oh, I overheard Sven and Phlegma say that they've scheduled an operation on a sheep tomorrow afternoon, so they won't be at the Center then. I thought maybe we could hang out with the dragons again, if you wanted to."

I stared. "You want to hang out with the dragons again?"

She nodded. "Yes, especially now. I really like Meatlug and there's something about that Nadder, too. I'd like to spend more time with her."

Toothless frowned. "I'm coming too."

"Toothless, we don't want anyone to see you," I began.

But Toothless was firm. "Sven and Phlegma will not be there. Just you and Astrid and the dragons. I'm going too, to make sure you're safe. There's no more chance of anyone seeing me than when we fly."

I had mentioned flying to Astrid when Toothless and I were telling her our story, but now she focused on it.

"You really do fly with Toothless?" She asked me, her eyes getting all wide again.

"Yes, and it's the most amazing thing!" I couldn't help but light up at the thought of flying. "It's better than the biggest, most exciting roller coaster you've ever been on, but I know Toothless will keep me safe, so it's just the most fun thing ever."

Astrid bit her lip. I could tell by the look on her face that she wanted to fly but was afraid to ask.

I looked over at Toothless. He looked at me and nodded.

I patted his neck in thanks, and asked Astrid, "Would you like to go flying with us?"

Astrid caught her breath. "Could I? Is it all right with you, Toothless?"

"Of course," Toothless agreed cheerfully.

"Then yes, I'd love to."

I peeked out the stable door to make sure that no one else was around, and we crept outside. A minute later Astrid and I were seated on Toothless, with Astrid sitting behind me.

"Um, I guess you need to put your arms, um…" I began.

"Like this?" Astrid wrapped her arms around my waist tightly. Part of me wondered if this was some wonderful dream and I was going to wake up in a minute.

"Um, yea. That's good." I managed to say.

But then Toothless took off and the sheer excitement and joy of flying drove any other thought from my mind. Astrid hung on to me even more tightly if that were possible, and I worried that she might be scared, especially when she shrieked in my ear. But then I realized that she was actually delighted.

"You're right, Hiccup! This is the best thing ever!"

We flew all around Berk—high in the sky so people wouldn't notice us—and then out over the ocean. Toothless took us through the maze of seastacks, though he flew more slowly since he was carrying the two of us, but Astrid was still thrilled with it. We dove and spun and finally climbed high enough to touch the clouds—literally. Astrid let go of me long enough to reach up and brush her fingertips through the mist.

We glided peacefully through the air for some time and then, just as Toothless was turning to head back home, he paused.

"Hiccup, look below," he hissed, his voice low even though we were far above the ocean.

I looked down and spotted a dark blue speedboat cruising through the waters below us.

"What is it?" Astrid whispered.

"See that boat?" I whispered back. "We're not sure, but they're sort of suspicious. Toothless and I think they may be the dragon poachers."

"Well, let's follow them," she suggested.

I looked down at Toothless questioningly. He nodded sharply.

I took a deep breath. "All right, but stay back and be careful."

Toothless nodded again and slowed his speed so that we were trailing behind the boat at a distance.

I took another deep breath and prayed that this wasn't a big mistake.

Author's Notes: Thanks so much to everyone who is reading, and especially to those who review! I really appreciate it. Thanks again to CHSHiccstrid for all your great reviews!

Everyone, please be careful and stay safe during these difficult times!


	12. Chapter 12

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Twelve

To my surprise, the large blue speedboat headed for Berk, though not to the town. When the Harbor Guardians came into view, the boat veered off towards the north side of the island—the Vastley estate.

"They're headed for your land," Astrid whispered.

I shook my head. "But why?"

We followed as the boat rounded Raven Point, a pair of wooded mountain tops near the cove where Toothless and I met. On the far side was an inlet with a rock ledge that extended out into the water like a natural dock. The man at the wheel guided the boat close and cut its engines while the other person on board dropped the anchor. Then they carefully stepped onto the ledge and made their way towards the narrow strip of pebbly sand that lay between the forest and the water's edge.

"Do you think we can land and follow them without being seen?" I asked Toothless.

"Maybe, if we're careful," he answered softly.

Toothless rose higher into the sky to avoid being spotted as he glided past and over into the forest. Then he circled back to approach the beach, coasting down to the trees and coming to land in a tiny clearing. Warily, we picked our way forwards, trying not to make any noise that would alert the trespassers to our presence. I worried that Toothless would have a hard time. He wasn't particularly big for a dragon, but he was bigger and heavier than Astrid and I were, of course.

But he was better at it than we were. He folded his wings tightly against his back and slipped along silently while Astrid and I walked slowly, making sure not to step on twigs or loose rocks.

It seemed to take forever, but I guess it was really only a short time before we reached the edge of the trees and could see the trespassers standing nearby. Toothless sank low to the ground behind a particularly dense cluster of trees and Astrid and I knelt in the shadows.

Now that we were closer, I could see that the trespassers were two men dressed in camouflage. One was tall and thin with cropped silver hair and a long face. The other one was more muscular, with dark hair. When he turned, I recognized him. He was the guy who had bumped into me downtown when I was buying the leather restoration kits.

"Grimmel, this is foolish," he complained. "We've been here too long. We've got our catch and Drago will pay us well. It's time to go."

"Not without the Night Fury," the silver-haired man was cool but insistent. "He's worth double the rest of them. Besides, it's a matter of principle. I never miss."

Even from a distance, I could see the dark-haired man roll his eyes. "Well, apparently you missed that one."

"I did not," Silver Hair (Grimmel?) hissed. "I hit him. But we were out of the fast-acting sedatives and he managed to fly out of range."

Dark Hair shrugged. "So, you still didn't get him."

Grimmel glared and if looks could kill, Dark Hair would have been a goner. But after a moment, Grimmel spoke more calmly, "I will. He flew this way. I found a line of broken trees when I was here before so I believe the Fury crashed on the northern side of Berk."

"Except that was weeks ago, and I doubt the dragon is just hanging around waiting for you to capture him," Dark Hair pointed out.

"Use your head, Eret," Grimmel snapped. "If he were injured in the crash, it's possible he's still here." He huffed in annoyance, "If only I could have come exploring here right afterwards. Drago picks the worst times to call meetings."

"Tell me about it," Eret grumbled. He looked over to Grimmel and sighed. "So what's the plan? We just look around on the off chance that the Night Fury is here?"

The Night Fury in question happened to be about ten feet away. If the situation weren't so serious, I could have laughed at the irony.

Grimmel nodded. "Yes, we have to know for sure whether he's here or not."

"And if we don't find him, then can we leave?"

"No," Grimmel glared again. "I will find that Night Fury if I have to search every island in the Archipelago."

This time Eret glared back. "You're being irrational, Grimmel. We've got a full catch and the Archipelago Guards are just one step behind us. We need to get out of here. Search for the Fury on your own time. And speaking of the Guards, isn't this private land that belongs to that bigwig guy Vastley? It won't be funny if we get arrested for trespassing."

"You're always so dramatic, Eret," Grimmel responded. "No one's getting arrested for trespassing. If we see someone, we'll simply apologize and say we're lost. Now, come on."

They started for the forest, coming almost straight towards us. Astrid and I both crouched lower, trying to blend in with the shadows and trees. To this day, I don't know which of us stepped on the branch, but there was a sharp cracking sound as the stick broke in two, and then everything happened so incredibly quickly that it was almost a blur.

Grimmel and Eret spun in our direction. Toothless sprang forward to defend us, but Grimmel suddenly had a gun in his hand. He aimed at Toothless, as Astrid and I both screamed and lunged towards him. We knocked him down, but not before I felt a _whoosh_ of air as something zoomed past my ear. Toothless gave a strangled sounding roar and collapsed.

"Toothless!" My heart stopped for a minute until I saw a yellow dart sticking from the side of his neck and realized that Grimmel's gun wasn't real, but a tranquilizer gun. But tranq darts weren't supposed to work instantaneously, were they?

I didn't really have time to think about that though. Eret had come up behind us and snatched me off of Grimmel. I punched and kicked him, but he was tall and strong and I am short and skinny. He caught my arms and with his other hand pressed sharply against the side of my neck.

And then everything went black.

When I came to, I was lying on the ground with my legs bound at the ankles, my hands tied behind my back, and a gag in my mouth. Nausea swept over me and I feared I was going to throw up, but I managed to fight it back. Vomiting while I was gagged could be very dangerous, and I couldn't save Toothless if I choked to death.

It seemed best to keep pretending to be unconscious so I kept my eyes closed while I tried to figure out what was going on around me. Somewhere nearby I could hear Grimmel and Eret arguing in low voices.

"I can't believe you used the tranq gun on the girl. You could have killed her!" Eret snapped.

"I had to do something. She was about to get away. The little devil has a mean side kick," Grimmel answered. "But relax, it wasn't a fatal dose. I used the darts for the Terrors."

He paused. "But they overheard us and saw our faces. We should eliminate the threat."

"No," Eret said flatly. "I signed up for catching dragons, not killing children."

"They're a threat to us."

"You are not going to hurt those kids, Grimmel," Eret told him fiercely. There was a long pause, and then he went on, more quietly but still firm. "Look, the freighter will be here in a few minutes. We'll load the Night Fury and get out of here. Everything will be fine."

There was another pause and then Grimmel said coolly, "All right. But if anything goes wrong, you won't have to worry about the Guards. I'll take care of you myself."

I heard him walk off and then more footsteps approaching. Eret knelt beside me and spoke in a low voice. "I know you must be awake by now. I'm sorry about all this, kid. But I'm in too far to back out. Don't worry. Once we're a safe distance away, I'll make an anonymous call and tip off the Guards that you're here. You'll be all right."

Except that I could never be all right without Toothless!

If I live to be a hundred, I will remember the rest of that day as one of the worst times of my life. Having to lie there helpless while they took Toothless away was torture. I couldn't really see how they did it, but once their freighter had arrived, Grimmel and Eret used some sort of crane or other machinery to carry him off. I don't think he was conscious yet. At least I didn't hear any sounds of him struggling. Maybe that was one small mercy.

Astrid was unconscious, too. Unless, like me, she had decided to pretend. I did risk opening my eyes and glancing around once Grimmel and Eret were busy kidnapping Toothless, and I saw that Astrid was lying next to me, also bound and gagged, with her eyes closed.

Then they were gone.

The forest seemed impossibly silent. Normally you could hear small sounds, like birds chirping or the rustle of leaves in the wind. But now it was perfectly still, as if everything had paused to grieve for Toothless. A sob rose in my throat, threatening to choke me, but with a sudden determination, I swallowed it and pushed away the fear and grief.

_I was not going to lose Toothless!_

I was going to find a way to rescue him, and the other dragons they had captured too. I didn't know exactly how, but the first step was to try to get free of the zip ties around my wrists and ankles.

Luckily, Eret hadn't tied them particularly tight (maybe deliberately?) and with some maneuvering, I was finally able to slip one hand loose and then the other. I ripped my gag off and started working on the ties around my ankles.

"Hmmm!"

I looked over to see that Astrid was awake and watching me.

"Hold on. I'll get to you in a minute," I told her.

"Hmmm!" Astrid somehow managed to sound even more frantic so I reached over to pull her gag away.

"There's a Swiss Army knife in my back pocket!" She told me.

Under any other circumstances, I probably would have felt awkward about rolling Astrid onto her side and taking the knife from her back jeans pocket, but at that moment, I didn't give it a second's thought.

A minute later we were free. Astrid started off through the woods, but stopped and came after me when she saw that I was racing towards the little beach.

"Hiccup, they're gone."

"I know," I agreed. "But my phone will have better service away from the trees and I'm calling the Archipelago Guards from here. The sooner they start after Grimmel's ship, the more likely they can catch it."

I punched the emergency number and as soon as someone answered, I blurted out everything that had just happened. I didn't tell them about befriending Toothless and flying him, of course. I just said that a friend and I had been walking to Raven's Point and had stumbled upon a pair of dragon poachers who had captured a Night Fury. I tried to remember everything I had heard Grimmel and Eret say and explained how Astrid and I had managed to free ourselves.

The man on the other end said that they would notify their ships to start pursuit at once and that they would send some Guards out to interview me and Astrid.

Then I switched my phone off and turned to her. "They're calling the Guard ships now and they want to talk to us."

Astrid nodded, and we hurried back through the forest towards home.

"What are you going to tell them? About Toothless?" She asked quietly.

"I guess what I just said on the phone, that we were hiking up to Raven's Point and stumbled across poachers. I don't see how knowing anything more about Toothless would help them catch Grimmel and Eret," I said. I looked over at her. "Do you?"

Astrid considered, then shook her head. "No, I don't think they need to know about Toothless. They just need to find him."

We had stepped out of the woods and were crossing the lawn when Astrid suddenly reached over and took my hand.

"Hiccup, they will. They'll find him and it'll be all right."

I nodded. "I can't just sit here and wait though. I've got to do something."

"What?"

I sighed, "I don't know. Probably something stupid."

Astrid arched her eyebrows. "You've already done that."

I paused as a germ of an idea bloomed in my mind. "Then something crazy."

Astrid started to say something else, but she was interrupted by several vehicles zooming up our drive and coming to a quick halt with screeching brakes—my dad's black Land Rover, her parents' blue SUV, and a dark blue and white marked Archipelago Guards car.

"Well, here we go," Astrid murmured.

We started towards them, while our parents and the Guards jumped from their cars and rushed towards us.

"Hiccup, what in the hell is going on?"

"Astrid, love, are you all right? What happened?"

"Everyone, calm down," one of the Guards, a tall woman with black hair pulled back in a bun at the nape of her neck, spoke firmly. "Can we go inside, Mr. Vastley? We need to take statements from the kids first of all."

Mrs. Hofferson spoke even more firmly. "First of all, we need to make sure Astrid and Hiccup are all right."

The adults all looked at us questioningly, and Astrid and I nodded.

"Yes, we're all right."

So then we went inside to the enormous drawing room with its dark paneled walls hung with tapestries, and sat on the burgundy and cream stuffed sofas and chairs, and Astrid and I told them our version of events and answered questions as best we could.

And the whole time I felt like jumping up and screaming that we needed to get out of there and go save Toothless.

Finally, just when I was sure I was about to lose control and have a major meltdown, the Guards decided they had all the information they needed and left. A minute later, Astrid's parents bustled her off too, debating with her over whether she needed to see Dr. Gothburg just to be certain she was fine. Astrid gave me a frustrated, desperate look, but she had to leave with her parents.

Then Dad and I were alone.

I was intent on slipping out of the house as soon as possible, so I got up and started for the stairs, saying, "I'm really tired so maybe I'll lie down for a while. Oh, and I'm not very hungry so I think I might skip dinner."

"Not so fast." Dad had followed me into the entrance hall and studied me with a frown. "You say those poachers had just happened to capture a Night Fury, and you just happened to find an injured Night Fury in that same area a few weeks ago."

"Um, yea," I agreed slowly.

"Night Furies are rare, so I'm thinking that it's the same one," Dad continued.

I didn't say anything.

Dad's eyes narrowed. "You're not one for trekking about the estate, Hiccup. It's quite the coincidence that you'd be all the way up at Raven's Point where that Night Fury was."

I still didn't say anything, though Dad wasn't entirely right. I might not hike around as much as he did, but I had been going to the cove for years.

I started to point that out, but then Dad crossed his arms and demanded, "What exactly has been going on around here these past few weeks?"

I hesitated. This wasn't how I had planned to tell Dad about Toothless, but I had realized that I needed to talk with him and it didn't seem like Dad would let me go until he had some answers. Maybe, if he understood about Toothless, he could even help.

So I told him.

Or at least, I tried to. But Dad didn't take it well when he heard that I had become friends with a dragon. He didn't even listen when I tried to explain how intelligent Toothless was and how he was like a person and could talk and everything.

No, he just started yelling instead.

"What do you mean, you were friends with a dragon? Hiccup, I thought you were supposed to be smart! That dragon is a wild animal, like a tiger or bear, except even more dangerous. You could have been killed, and you could have been killed today too. What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Dad, I—"

Dad grabbed my arm and shook me, hard. "I can't believe you disobeyed me like that. I told you to stay away from that dragon!"

I thought back to the day when I had met Toothless and come home late to dinner. "I didn't disobey you! You never told me to stay away from Toothless!"

"Well, if I didn't, it's because I didn't think I needed to! What kind of fool risks his life making friends with a dragon?"

That stung. I glared back at Dad. "So I'm a fool now?"

"You've been acting like one. I expected more from you!"

Years of loneliness, pain, and anger bubbled up inside me, combining with the terror of losing Toothless.

"You always expect more from me!" I yelled. "But whatever I do, it's never good enough! I know I'm not what you wanted. I know you hate me. Well, maybe I hate you too!"

_Crack!_ There was a sharp pain on my left cheek as Dad slapped me. We've been angry with each other before, but Dad had never hit me, until then.

We both froze and stared at each other in stunned disbelief. But then I pulled away out of his grasp and ran upstairs. I grabbed my backpack and threw the extra riding harnesses into it. I made sure I had my phone, and also realized that I still had Astrid's Swiss army knife in my pocket. Well, good, it might come in handy.

I raced back down the stairs. Dad was still standing in the hall and he reached for me. "Hiccup—"

But I jumped away from him, rushed out the door, and raced to get my bike from the stables. I rode as if that bike had wings and reached the Wildlife Center in record time. It was late afternoon by now, almost dinner time, and I saw with relief that Sven and Phlegma's truck was gone.

I leaped from my bike before coming to a stop and just left it lying on ground as I headded for the dragon pen.

"Hiccup!"

I spun around to see that I wasn't alone after all. Astrid was coasting into the parking lot on her bike, with the rest of the gang right behind her. Fishlegs, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and even my cousin Sly.

They jumped from their bikes too and ran over to me.

"Hey, if there's going to be a fight, we want in on it," Ruffnut said.

Tuffnut nodded. "Yea, I'll show any poachers what's what. I am the world's most dangerous weapon."

Sly shot him an annoyed look and then turned to me. "So what's the plan?"

Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who is reading and especially to those who leave a review. I appreciate it so much! I apologize for the slow updates lately. I've had some family issues and real-life stuff keeping me busy, plus I'm just not always a speedy writer. But the stories are not abandoned and I appreciate your patience and not giving up! I am going to try to update a little more quickly and will try to get another chapter of "Lost and Found" up within a week or so.

My other story, "Stepping Forward" is not abandoned either. It's just that I'm at a crossroads with it, and can't decide whether to wrap it up in a chapter or two, or explore some more ideas with it. And since I can't decide, I've put it on the back burner to concentrate on "Outcast" and "Lost and Found" for now. But I will eventually get back to it.

Anyway, thanks again and look for another chapter of "Lost and Found" next week.


	13. Chapter 13

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Chapter Thirteen

"And now these poachers have Toothless, and a bunch of other dragons too, it sounds like," I explained to the Center dragons.

I had jumped down inside their pen, calling to them, though it wasn't really necessary. They had all been close by and had come running to see what was going on. Now they stood in a loose line before me while I explained what had happened. It was all I could do not to choke up when I spoke of how Grimmel and Eret had taken Toothless, but I had forced myself to keep speaking past the lump in my throat. I had to explain and ask for the dragons' help as soon as possible.

I didn't dare consider the possibility that they might refuse.

I took a deep breath. "So I was hoping that you might be willing to let me—well, us, that is—," I waved a hand back at the other kids who were standing by the wall in the parking lot, looking down at us. "Fly with you and see if we can find their freighter and free all the captured dragons. Please?"

There was an endless moment where no one moved and I could scarcely breathe. Then Meatlug walked over and pushed her nose at me with the other dragons following. I could scarcely believe it. I was asking them to take a considerable risk, for nothing more than helping me and Toothless, and other dragons.

I gave a shaky laugh. "So is this a 'yes'?"

"Hey, Hiccup, what now?" Sly called.

"Hurry up and get down here," I answered. "We've got to figure out which dragons you're going to fly."

"Fly?!"

In the end, it was very simple. The Nadder rushed to Astrid as soon as she jumped down into the pen. The ornery Nightmare seemed a good match for Sly, and easy-going Meatlug was perfect for Fishlegs. That left the twins and the two-headed Zippleback—obviously, that was a match made in Heaven…or another place.

As I grabbed the extra harnesses from my bag, I thanked my lucky stars that I had repaired all of them and had brought them all with me. After all, I hadn't known which dragon, if any, would agree to let me ride it or which harness would fit the best. It took a few minutes to get everything sorted out, but Fishlegs had a good eye. He quickly figured out how the harnesses needed to attach and helped me get everyone situated. I helped him with Meatlug and then ran to jump up behind Astrid.

"Hiccup, do you have any idea where this ship is?" Ruffnut asked. "The ocean is a pretty big place. It would help a little if we knew which direction to go."

"Um…" Unfortunately, I had no idea. They probably hadn't headed north, as it was pretty barren and freezing cold going towards the Arctic from here. But other than that, I didn't have a clue.

"Well, I don't know if this would help," Fishlegs said hesitantly. "But Nadders are Tracker-Class dragons. Maybe this one could find the scent of the other dragons and lead us to them?"

Astrid placed a hand on the Nadder's neck. "Do you think you could do that?"

The Nadder squawked, rather like a bird, and took off with a strong beat of her wings, with the others right behind us.

"Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, we're gonna die!" Fishlegs wailed.

"Cool it, Fish, we're—aaiiyee!" Sly began, then shouted in alarm as the Nightmare banked to the right. For a second, my heart skipped a beat as he started to slide off, but the dragon swiftly turned his head and gently nudged Sly back into place.

Even from a distance, I could see that Sly's eyes were as big as saucers as he gently patted the Nightmare's neck and said shakily, "Thanks, Big Guy."

The Nightmare snorted.

"Hold on tight to the harness!" I called to him.

Sly nodded. "Okay, yea. That would be a good idea."

"This is totally amazing!" Tuffnut sounded exhilarated.

"Just think of all we could do with a dragon," Ruffnut said wonderingly.

The Zippleback chittered excitedly back at them.

I shook my head. "I may get banished from Berk."

Even though I wasn't really serious about that, the mention of trouble and banishment gave me a sharp pang as I remembered Dad and me yelling at each other and him hitting me. Things haven't been great between Dad and me for a long time, if indeed they ever were, but they'd never been this bad. I didn't know how I could go home after all this, but then I swallowed hard and pushed those thoughts away. I'd worry about going home later—after I'd saved Toothless.

He was all that mattered now.

The Nadder soared in ever-widening circles, tilting her head this way and that, with the rest of the Riders following. Just as I was starting to fear that she wouldn't be able to catch the scent, she sharply raised her head and then took off like a shot.

"I think she's got it!" Astrid called.

The sun was setting when a small gray freighter came into view. I waved to the others and we all paused, with the dragons hovering close together.

"Hold on, everyone. We don't know if they'll notice us on radar or start shooting tranquilizers at our dragons or what. Let's think about the best way to approach," I said.

"Would radar pick up on us?" Sly asked. "I know it does for ships and planes, but I'm guessing it doesn't catch every little thing, like birds flying by or something."

He looked over at me. "Would radar pick up dragons?"

I looked blankly back at him. "I don't know."

Sly huffed. "I thought you were some kind of genius."

"I read and study a lot cause I don't have much else to do," I told him. "That doesn't mean I know everything."

"How do we even know for sure if this is the poachers?" Fishlegs asked.

The Nadder glared at him and squawked indignantly.

"It's got to be," I said. "And who knows what they're doing to Toothless! I've got to get down there. Then you guys can take off and try to find the Archipelago Guards."

"We're not leaving you there alone," Astrid retorted. "We'll just have to be as careful as possible. Does anyone have any kind of weapon?"

"I've got your Swiss Army knife," I answered.

"Anyone else?"

Ruffnut spoke up. "They're not weapons, but Tuff and I have some bang snaps."

I frowned. "What are those?"

Tuffnut gave me a pitying look. "You poor deprived kid. They're a kind of firecracker. You throw them on the ground and they make a loud noise."

"And the dragons can breathe fire," Fishlegs pointed out.

"But these guys have tranquilizer guns," Sly said.

"Fast-acting ones too," I warned everyone. "Faster than the normal kind. You'll be out at once if they hit you with one."

"I imagine they have real guns too," Astrid pointed out. "We're going to have to be really careful."

"I wish we could see the ship better. It would help if we could see if anyone is on deck, or get a clue where the dragons might be," I sighed.

Ruffnut reached into her jacket and pulled a pair of binoculars out. "Here. Try this."

I took them. "Why are you carrying around a pair of binoculars?"

She shrugged. "Doesn't everyone?"

I scanned the ship from bow to stern very carefully before handing the binoculars back to Ruff. "I don't see anyone on deck, but that doesn't mean someone couldn't be watching. I didn't see any sign of the dragons either. They must be below deck so we'll need to land and get below quickly, without being seen."

"That's all?" Sly asked sarcastically. "Any idea how we can do that?"

"I saw several doors," I replied. "I guess we'll just have to be quiet and hope we're lucky."

We started to take off, but Tuffnut said, "Wait."

He pulled a bag from his jacket, took out some small round paper objects with a long, twisted end, and started handing them around. "The bang snaps. Everybody, take one just in case you need a distraction."

We all did, and then I reminded the dragons to be alert in case someone started shooting at us, tranquilizer darts or otherwise, and reminded the other kids to hold tightly to the harnesses and be prepared in case our dragons had to dodge quickly. I hoped Astrid didn't mind my holding tightly around her waist.

I think we all held our breath as our dragons glided close to the freighter, but nothing happened. No one shot anything at us. No alarms went off. There was no sign of anyone else at all.

I motioned to the Nadder to land towards the stern, where I had seen a large door that hopefully led below to the storage areas. We landed, slipped from the dragons' backs, and crept to the door. I reached for the handle and cautiously gave it a tug. I was scared to death that an alarm would go off or something, but again our luck held. The door opened silently and the wide hallway beyond was empty. We hurried inside, except for Astrid.

"Let's make sure we can open the door again from the inside," she said in a quiet voice. "I'll wait out here so I can open it if the door locks behind you."

"Good thinking," I agreed and eased the door shut. But it opened easily from the inside too, so Astrid slipped in and we crept down the hall. The walls were a pale gray and there were bright fluorescent lights overhead. A single open doorway stood near the far corner on the left side.

In other words, if poachers stepped out from the doorway or came around the corner, we were sitting ducks.

Astrid and I led the way down the hall, all of us trying to move as quickly and as silently as possible, when the sudden sound of voices made us freeze and look at each other in a panic.

"This stuff is bilge! Can't you even heat up pizza correctly, Eret?"

I recognized Grimmel's voice, coming from the open doorway.

"It's not my fault Drago's too cheap to hire us a cook," Eret grumbled back. "For a billionaire, he's the biggest cheapskate I've ever seen. Expecting us to live here for months with only a handful of sailors. Calling them a skeleton crew would be generous."

"Well, he'll pay a good price for these dragons, especially the Night Fury," Grimmel sounded more pleased as he contemplated his reward money. "You fed them already?"

"Yes, they're all tucked in for the night."

"Good. I'm going to finish—_dinner_, for lack of a better word—and retire early. This trip has been rather grueling," Grimmel commented.

I motioned the others to be still and crept towards the open doorway. I crouched low before very cautiously peering inside. Hopefully, the poachers would be less likely to look down near the floor and notice me. Grimmel and Eret were alone in the room, sitting at a table in the far end. Grimmel had his back to me and Eret was frowning at his dinner plate.

I motioned for the others to come on and they managed to slip by the doorway unnoticed. I was worried that Grimmel and Eret would hear something. Even though everyone was quiet, we were six kids and four large-ish dragons. But, as I had already learned from Toothless, dragons were able to move silently despite their size, and the kids were all very quiet too. Fortunately, there were no windows, so once we were past the door, we didn't have to worry about that.

A large freight elevator was just around the corner, and another door that led to a wide staircase. Sly started to push the elevator button, but I stopped him and pointed towards the stairs instead. For one thing, I thought that crew members would be more likely to take the elevator than the stairs, and we certainly didn't want to bump into anyone. I also thought that the elevator could make some noise that Grimmel and Eret might notice.

So we made it down one level and then stopped. There was a door on the landing with a small window near the top.

Astrid turned to the Nadder. "Hey girl, could you lift me up to that window?"

The Nadder lowered her head and Astrid climbed on the back of her neck. The Nadder stepped close to the door and raised her head so Astrid could peer in.

"That's it! There are cages full of dragons in there. I don't see any humans." She slipped from the Nadder and I motioned to all our dragons.

"When we go in, we don't want the dragons to get noisy or anything, so can you guys talk with them in Dragonese? Explain that we just want to set them free?"

The dragons nodded, and it occurred to me that they really had picked up a lot from humans these past few weeks. They seemed to understand us perfectly, even our mannerisms.

"Thanks," I whispered. "Oh, and can you ask if anyone has seen a Night Fury?"

The door opened into a shadowy cavernous room with big cages, each containing a dragon, lining the walls. Most of the caged dragons were lying down, but they raised their heads and jumped to their feet when we entered. Our dragons immediately started chattering to the closest ones, who then turned to their neighbors. We could hear the message being passed along like the soft sigh of an ocean wave.

"Do any of them know where Toothless is?" I asked Meatlug, but she shook her head at me.

"Let's start releasing them and maybe we'll find him," Astrid said. She had already stepped close to the nearest cage and was examining the lock. "Thank goodness these are old-fashioned locks and not something computerized. I think we can pick it with my knife."

I took the knife from my pocket and handed it to her.

Astrid selected a thin blade, but then turned to the twins. "Here. You guys have more experience picking locks."

Ruffnut gave her an indignant look. "What makes you think that?"

"Maybe because you guys broke into the science lab and took the helium last spring," Sly suggested.

"And you just assume it was us," Tuffnut said in a hurt tone.

Sly rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm sure that big tank of helium in your bedroom was a birthday present."

"It wouldn't be the weirdest present we've gotten," Ruffnut shrugged, but then she came over and took the Swiss Army knife from Astrid. "Let me see that."

She and Tuff had the lock open in about ten seconds. They moved on to the next cage while Astrid and Sly opened it and led out the Gronckle inside. Fishlegs and Meatlug had stepped back to the door, with Fish keeping a lookout by standing on Meatlug's back to see through the window.

"No one's coming. Should we start leading them out?"

"Not yet," I told him. "Grimmel said they were going to retire early after dinner, but we better wait a few minutes to be sure they're out of the way."

It wasn't long before there was a quite a crowd of freed dragons all around us and they were starting to get antsy. Eventually I decided that the poachers must surely have finished eating and gone on to wherever their bunks were, so Sly and I led the way back upstairs to check. Sure enough, the room was empty and there was no sign of anyone. I couldn't help but worry—everything seemed to be going too smoothly. But of course we had to take advantage of our chance, so the dragons started flying away.

I was almost in a panic though. We had freed all the dragons on that level, thirty of them at least, and there was still no sign of Toothless at all. Apparently none of the dragons had even heard about a Night Fury being captured. Surely he had to be here…but where?

"There's another deck lower down. Let's check there," Astrid suggested.

So we went down another level and again the Nadder helped Astrid to peer through a high window.

"I don't know," she said slowly. "It's dark, but it looks more like big freezers, maybe for the fish they were feeding the dragons?"

"I have to check it out," I said, trying to keep fear out of my voice. "He's got to be here somewhere."

We went inside and as Astrid had said, it was darker here, and chilly. There were enormous freezers lining the walls, and empty cages and other boxes just scattered about.

"Maybe we should split up?" Sly suggested. "We could search more quickly."

I wasn't sure if that was a good idea or not. It seemed that there were pros and cons to splitting up, but I was definitely ready to find Toothless and get out of there.

So I nodded. "Okay. Fishlegs, why don't you and Meatlug keep a lookout by the door? Everyone else, spread out and look for Toothless."

Sly and the Nightmare went off towards the right, while the twins and the Zippleback went left. So Astrid, the Nadder, and I started straight ahead, except that we couldn't keep going straight for long. This deck seemed much more disorganized than the one above, where the dragon cages had been in neat rows. But here we had to pick our way among freezers, storage units, and empty cages, most of them higher than our heads. We turned this way and then double-backed that way, and it wasn't long before I had lost any sense of direction.

Then we came to a particularly narrow path.

"I don't think she can fit through there," Astrid whispered, looking up at the Nadder.

Though it was dark, my eyes had adjusted enough that I could see a wall looming ahead in the distance.

"Okay," I whispered back. "You two stay here. I'll go on to the wall and then come back."

Astrid nodded and I started off. Then a huge metal container of some kind jutted out and I had to step to the right. I looked back but what with it being so dark, I could no longer see Astrid or the Nadder. It was a little scary creeping along by myself. Well, all right—it was a lot scary. Even though I knew all the others were down here too, it seemed that I was all alone, with shadows and frightening shapes looming out of the darkness. But I couldn't give up; Toothless needed me.

So I kept going.

Just as I was despairing of ever finding him in this horrible labyrinth, I heard a small sound, like a deep sigh. I squinted, trying to see through the darkness, and then I saw him.

He was lying down in a cage by the wall.

"Toothless!" I rushed to him as fast as I could, and then realized two things at once—I didn't have the Swiss Army knife to open the lock, and Toothless was asleep, or more likely, unconscious since he hadn't awoken when I said his name.

I could hardly bear to leave him, but I had to get help. "Hold on, bud. I'll be right back. We'll get you out of there."

"Oh, I don't think so."

My blood ran cold at the sound of that cool, aloof voice, and I spun around to see Grimmel step from the shadows.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry for the wait, but this chapter was a little difficult for me to write. I've been working on it all week, but progress was slow. I hope you've enjoyed it. Thanks for reading, and please leave a review! I really appreciate it.


	14. Chapter 14

The Outcast and The Night Fury

Author's Notes: I'm putting my notes at the beginning this time, as I feel I should warn everyone that there is some violence and mention of guns in this chapter.

I'm sorry for the long wait between updates. I've had a lot going on in real life lately, including my father re-marrying this past weekend, but part of it is just that I can be a slow writer sometimes.

I do hope you'll enjoy this chapter and please leave a review—I really appreciate it!

Chapter Fourteen

He stepped towards me, a rifle pointed directly at my heart.

"I never should have listened to Eret," Grimmel remarked almost conversationally. "He convinced me to let you live back on the island, and you have re-paid my generosity by wasting months of my work and costing me millions of kroners. You are definitely more trouble than you're worth, boy, but I suppose it's my own fault in a way."

His expression hardened. "But I won't make that mistake again."

He motioned with the rifle. "Go."

I didn't dare disobey, though my mind was racing, trying to figure out how to get away. I started walking in the direction Grimmel had indicated, moving as slowly as possible to try to gain a little time.

At least until Grimmel shoved the tip of the rifle into my back and snapped, "I said move!"

So I made my way through the twisting path through of tall metal containers until I came to a small cleared out area. My heart sank as I saw Eret standing beside a tall cage, with all the other kids locked inside.

Grimmel shoved me into the cleared area in front of the cage. "Well, it looks like the gang's all here," he drawled. "So which of you shall I shoot first? The pretty little girl? The two nutcases? Or one of you tough guys?"

Sly glared at him, which didn't surprise me—whatever his flaws, Sly does have courage in spades. But I was surprised that Fishlegs looked equally angry and fierce. As for Astrid, she looked ready to pull the bars apart and tackle Grimmel. In a flash of gallows humor, I had to think that he was lucky there was a steel-barred cage between them.

Then for just a second, I wondered where the Center dragons were and felt even more scared. Surely Eret and Grimmel couldn't have captured all of us without taking out the dragons first. I felt sick, and so terribly sorry. This was all my fault. I had brought us here and now we were all going to die.

But Eret spoke up. "We're not killing them, Grimmel."

Grimmel gave him a cool look. "I listened to you on Berk, Eret. And we've lost nearly five hundred million kroners, not too mention wasted over four months of work, thanks to your kind-hearted generosity. We're doing it my way now."

"You're talking about shooting a bunch of kids!" Eret exclaimed in horror. "That's cold-blooded murder!"

"And what did you think you were getting into, when you signed up to work for Drago?" Grimmel inquired. "Did you think we simply went on shoplifting sprees and jaywalked?"

"I didn't think you murdered children!"

"We do whatever is necessary, Eret," Grimmel replied. "And you're in too far to back out now."

He shifted the rifle to point at the younger dark-haired man. "Or you could join them…"

I had been watching closely as the two men argued and I decided that now, with Grimmel's attention diverted and the rifle pointed away from me, was going to be my best opportunity. I slipped away into the shadows, hurrying along behind the cages and freezers that stood haphazardly around the room. My natural instinct was just to run, to put as much distance as possible between me and Grimmel, but I knew I couldn't do that. I had to find some way to save the other kids and Toothless. So I stayed close, peering between the containers to watch Grimmel and also trying desperately to find some object that I could use as a weapon.

I also realized that I wasn't the only one taking advantage of the poachers' inattention. The twins had moved to the front of the cage, and I thought that Ruffnut was trying to pick the lock while Tuffnut did his best to shield her from Eret and Grimmel.

Seeing the twins reminded me of the bang snaps they had given us. I reached into my pocket and curled my fingers around the little paper package. It wasn't much of a weapon, but it might be the best I could do. Now I just had to be careful to use it at the right moment.

Of course it didn't take long before they realized that I was gone. Grimmel actually looked close to losing his temper for a moment.

Then his expression cleared and he swung the rifle towards the cage with the other kids, though fortunately, he didn't actually pay much attention to them.

"All right then. You can listen as your friends die, and then I'll come after you. You're on a boat in the middle of the ocean, you know. You don't have anywhere to run."

I pulled the bang snap from my pocket, wondering frantically if it would incapacitate Grimmel if I threw it at him, but Eret shouted "No!" and lunged at him, shoving the rifle out of the way.

There a was a moment of the two of them wrestling. Then suddenly a loud shot echoed through the chamber and I watched in horror as Eret sank to the ground, his hand pressed to his side as blood flowed between his fingers.

Grimmel swore in a furiously cold tone, and then turned back to the cage. I didn't have to see his face to know that he meant business—and that he was certainly capable of killing.

I threw the bang snap as hard as I could towards Grimmel. Although it wasn't a weapon and didn't hurt him, the sudden loud noise going off right at his feet did startle him enough that he dropped the rifle and stumbled backwards.

I darted forwards to try to grab the rifle, but Grimmel recovered quickly and he was reaching for it too. I kicked fiercely and at least managed to send the rifle clattering away into a far dark corner of the room.

Grimmel grabbed my arm. "You're going to pay for that!"

Ruffnut must have succeeded in picking the lock because suddenly Sly was there.

He ran into Grimmel full tilt, knocking him down. "Get your hands off my cousin!"

Astrid also ran over to kick Grimmel. "And I am NOT a pretty little girl, you misogynistic pig!"

She turned to me. "Hiccup, get the rifle!"

But the twins had already run off in search of it, and just then Tuffnut yelled, "We've got it!"

They hurried back, carrying the rifle carefully, just as Grimmel was climbing to his feet.

"You, get in there," Ruffnut snapped at him, gesturing to the cage.

"Yea, it's your turn to be locked up," Tuffnut told him.

Grimmel hesitated, but Tuffnut had the rifle and for once, the twins looked deadly serious. Reluctantly, Grimmel went into the cage, his jaw tight with anger.

Sly slammed the door and closed the lock. "There!" He announced with immense satisfaction.

"Hey guys, he's losing a lot of blood here," Fishlegs spoke for the first time and we all looked around to see that he had taken off his shirt and was kneeling on the floor beside an unconscious Eret. Fishlegs was holding his shirt to the young poacher's side, pressing as hard as he could to try to stop the bleeding, but the shirt was soaked with blood and Eret was frighteningly pale.

"We need to try to call the Archipelago Guards," I said.

Sly had already reached for his phone, but then he scowled at it. "No reception in here. I'm going to have to go up on deck."

"I'll go with you," Tuffnut offered. "He's out of action," he nodded towards Grimmel. "And you might need someone to cover you just in case we run into any of the crew."

I wasn't completely at ease with Tuffnut having that rifle, but he did have a point. Something of my conflicted feelings must have shown in my face, because Tuffnut looked over and said solemnly, "Don't worry, Hiccup. We joke around a lot, but we know when things are serious. I don't like this thing either, but those crew members could be armed too. Someone needs to protect Sly, just in case."

I nodded and they hurried off. I just prayed that they could reach the Guards in time.

"Astrid, you know first aid. Is there anything else we can do for him?" Fishlegs asked.

Astrid shook her head. "I don't think so, except keep trying to stop the bleeding. Ruff, give me your jacket."

Ruffnut didn't say a word in protest, but quickly handed it over. Astrid knelt beside Fishlegs, joining him as she pressed Ruffnut's denim jacket to Eret's side.

Ruffnut and I stood beside each other, and I wondered if she felt as helpless as I did, just watching Fishlegs and Astrid trying to save Eret. But then another thought occurred to me.

I swallowed hard and asked, "What happened to the dragons?"

"Grimmel and Eret got them with those fast-acting sedatives," Ruffnut answered.

"Oh." I felt a little weak with relief that at least the dragons should be all right. Ruffnut must have been thinking along those lines, too, for she said.

"Since I'm not any use here now, maybe I'll check on them, see if they're waking up." She started to walk off, but then turned back to me. "Hey, Hiccup?"

I looked at her. "Yea?"

"Thanks.""

I blinked at her. "For what?"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes. "For saving our lives, a few minutes ago. Grimmel was about to shoot us, and then you jumped out at him. Remember that?"

"Oh," I repeated, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "Well, yea, I had to."

"No, you didn't have to. You could have just hidden and tried to call the Guards for help. But you didn't—so thanks." Ruffnut smiled at me and then went off to check the dragons.

I looked back over to Fishlegs and Astrid, but there didn't seem to be anything that I could do to help. Then I glanced at Grimmel, who stood glowering at us from the cage, but he was silent and safely contained.

I turned away from him and awkwardly cleared my throat. "I'm going to check on Toothless and see if he's woken up yet."

Astrid nodded in a distracted sort of way, but I'm not sure if she and Fishlegs really heard me. I turned and made my way through the stacks of high freezers and containers back to where Toothless was. At least, I hoped I was heading back towards Toothless. It was easy to lose the way in this dark, cluttered space.

But after a few minutes I could make out the cage by the wall and his familiar shape lying down inside.

"Toothless!" I rushed over and shook the cage door. "Wake up! Are you all right?"

For a long heart-stopping moment, nothing happened and I worried whether Toothless was hurt, and not simply sedated. But then he blinked and slowly opened his eyes, looking around blearily.

"Hiccup?"

"Yes, it's me! Are you all right?"

Toothless nodded. "I think so, but what happened—oh!"

He raised his head sharply as the memories returned. "You shouldn't be here! It's dangerous."

"Not anymore," I told him. "We locked Grimmel up in a cage and Eret—" I paused and swallowed hard. "Grimmel shot him. He's hurt pretty badly, I think, but Fishlegs and Astrid are trying to save him, and Sly and Tuff are calling for help."

Toothless looked confused, but before he could question me further, I gestured towards the lock on the cage. "Stupid me, I should have had Ruffnut come with me to pick this lock. Should I try to find her, or just wait here?"

"Step out of the way and I'll see if I can blast the door open." Toothless climbed to his feet.

"You can do that?" I asked.

"I don't know. The cages are probably strong enough to withstand ordinary dragon fire, but Night Furies shoot plasma blasts. I might be able to get out," Toothless explained.

I stepped back and as I did so, suddenly someone grabbed my arm and yanked me back even further into the shadows.

"Hey," I began indignantly, but then I froze as I looked up into Grimmel's furious face. "You—"

Grimmel smiled slightly, but there was no humor in it. "Did you think your little friends are the only ones who can pick locks? Those two young fools never even noticed, they're so busy trying to save that traitor Eret."

He pulled a handgun from inside his jacket and continued conversationally, though his tone was like ice. "You should have considered that I might have another weapon as well. 'Always be prepared' is my motto. I was tempted to shoot your little friends even while they were kneeling over Eret."

His face hardened. "But you're the one I'm really after."

He pressed the cold muzzle of the gun to my forehead. I've always heard that you see your life flash before your eyes when you think you're about to die, but for me, it was more like several thoughts, regrets and worries, racing through my mind—what would happen to Toothless? Would Grimmel kill the other kids too? And that I would never be able to tell Dad that I was sorry that I had said I hated him, that I didn't mean it, and that I really did love him and wished that he loved me.

Then several things seemed to happen at once. There was an odd, piercing sound that I realized later must have been Toothless blasting his way out of the cage because suddenly he was there, his green eyes shining through the darkness. Grimmel pulled the trigger at the same instant that Toothless grabbed him and slung him away from me. For a terrible instant I was afraid that Grimmel had shot Toothless, or me, but then I realized we were all right.

But I didn't even have time to feel relief because Toothless slung Grimmel with such force that the silver-haired poacher crashed into several huge metal containers. They shook, and then collapsed, burying Grimmel—and the top one was falling right towards me.

Toothless sprang to snatch me away. There was no time for him to be careful—he just grabbed my arm in his mouth and his teeth felt like a dozen little daggers stabbing into my arm. He almost succeeded—he did manage to get most of me out of the way. But the corner of the container landed on the lower part of my left leg and foot.

There was indescribable, blinding agony, and then mercifully everything went black.


End file.
